King's Flower
by steph557
Summary: My name's Hana & I was a pre-med student. Suddenly, after saving a little girl, I meet Dresden Rex. If I save his "Kings," then I might be able to go home. I don't know how I ended up in the K Project Universe, but I want, no, need, to save Anna, Tatara, and Mikoto. Maybe I'll make some friends along the way. (Chpt 1 is a bit slow, end of chpt 2 is when the plot picks up the pace).
1. Coincidence? I think not

Chapter 1: Coincidence? I think not.

 **Hello! This is the 1st fanfic I've written, and I honestly don't have time for it but I'm procrastinating from college bcuz college is stressful. Normally I'm content with just reading fanfic, but I finally decided to try my hand at writing. Honestly I can't promise it's going to be good because I'm a terrible writer, so any constructive criticism is good! I'm writing because I want to have fun with this, so I hope you enjoy it! I also have no beta so please excuse any mistakes.**

 **I do not own any K Project characters or any names, etc. Only my own OCs!**

Hana sighed, looking up into the sky as she stepped out of the main Bio Building. Finals week was approaching and it was getting chilly. Even with her four layers of clothing, November in California was colder than what she was used to. She mused about her choice to become a doctor as she fast walked towards her dorm building. Hana was always prepared for the worst possible situation. The one time she wasn't, she lost.. _No. Stop thinking about it._ Hana instructed herself sternly. _I have my first aid kit always in my backpack, my trauma kit, and emergency supplies. Nothing will happen. I won't be useless._

Heading back to the dorms is a five minute walk through the crowded streets. Growing up in a rough neighborhood meant she was always on guard. She didn't have earphones in listening to music when she walked anywhere by herself. Stepping on the fallen orange leaves, her feet made a satisfying crunch noise. Hana turned her attention to the food stores she passed by. She paused a bit outside of her favorite bread shop, only because it reminded her of her time in Japan. She missed the country, its culture, food, customs, and most especially its anime. Being a pre-med college student meant she didn't have any time to enjoy her favorite manga or anime, and there were times she wished she could be carefree. Do whatever she wanted and be whomever she wanted.

Continuing on, she stopped at the intersection. This intersection was famous, because people driving in UC Berkeley just didn't know how to drive. They sped, were reckless, and personally most of Hana's friends had close calls when it was their right of way.

It was red for her, so she stopped at the sidewalk, thinking about actin and myosin, protein structures, and eukaryotic gene regulation.

"TIFFANY!" A voice cut through Hana's peace, as she turned her head toward a seven year old girl who was half way through the crosswalk. The little girl - Tiffany - stopped and looked back towards who Hana assumed to be her mother, whose face was contorted in horror. Tiffany's mother was on the sidewalk opposite of Hana's.

 _Ah fuck it, this is so fucking cliched._ Hana thought, her years of being on the swim and track team coming in handy as her muscles quickly responded to her natural instinct. Hana lunged for the little girl as a large blue SUV was headed straight for her, going too fast to stop on time. Hana's outstretched arms pushed the girl out of the way, leaving her body exposed as the SUV slammed into her abdomen and side, throwing her several feet down the street.

 _Ah fuck, this hurts. I probably have several broken ribs and internal bleeding. Might also have a concussion. Stupid backpack did nothing to cushion the hit. I'm glad I was able to do something though. I would rather give my life up saving someone, even if my goal was to become a doctor. I don't regret this at all._ Hana's eyes slowly closed as her blurred vision picked up people swarming around her yelling muffled words.

"You don't regret it, eh?" A loud, clear voice sounded next to her head.

Hana blinked, pushing herself up from the uneven floor. Huh? The floor was uneven due to the intricate carvings and runes. She looked down at herself, and her clothes were the same ones she put on that morning. Medium-length black hair tied in a ponytail, jeans, a casual t-shirt, and Nike shoes. The familiar weight of her backpack rested on her shoulders. Her body looked and felt normal. _Am I in a coma? Is this one of those reincarnation things? This is real life, not an anime. I'm not even in Japan!_

"HAHAHA. What a funny head you have there."

Hana looked up to see a green-haired man with kind blue eyes staring down at her. He must be somewhere in his thirties, but there was something off about him. His atmosphere wasn't unpleasant, but it sent a tingly feeling in her fingers. He wore a Japanese yukata and stood there staring at her before realizing the girl in front of him was still very disoriented.

"Ah, my apologies, I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Dresden Rex. Now who are you and how did you get here?" Dresden curiously asked her.

Hana stared at Dresden, and although the situation itself was suspicious, she figured she had nothing else to lose. "My name is Hana, Hana Kugawa. I'm 18 years old and a first year college student. I'm from California. I'm not sure where this is or how I got here, but this doesn't seem like California anymore." Hana pointedly stared at the Japanese yukata Dresden was wearing.

"Curiouser and curiouser." Hana mentally facepalmed as Dresden uttered this, thinking about the fact that he was quoting Alice in Wonderland. "It seems like you were placed here, in my reality for a reason. My physical body is located in the Kanto region of Japan. You suddenly showed up, surprisingly because you're not a King, but you still gained some of my powers. Normally, only new kings meet me here where they gain their power. However, you're not a strain either who gained their powers from me from afar, mostly by accident. There's something that connects you to all of the clans, your power is somehow linked to that."

Hana stared at Dresden. _Kings? Clans? Powers? But I'm an ordinary girl from California and this is NOT sounding like the anime K Project I watched in high school._

"Oh ho ho? So there is some sort of documentation of us in your reality? Is that so?"

"DUDE. In the most polite way possible, please stop reading my mind." Hana seethed out of her teeth.

Dresden just smiled at her like he knew something she didn't. And he probably did. "Well, all I can tell you is good luck, because something is stirring in my world and you seem to be the one to save it. Save my Kings and in turn, I will see if it is in my power to return you to your reality."

"Woah wait! I have more questions, how do I contact you? Where am I really? Powers? What powers? What time period is this? Am I animefied?" (What it's a legit question, Hana didn't have any mirror to look in and it's hard to tell if something happened without looking at her face. Her body certainly wasn't 2D, but then again, anime world rules. If she really is in an anime, her black hair probably turned white or something.) But it was too late for Dresden to answer her question, as her body started to fade out and her vision turned black.

 **Hi my fellow fanfic readers, I hope you enjoyed this! I have to juggle work, college, midterms, and life in general. Also trying to write a good story considering the fact writing is my worst subject. Please let me know if I got anything wrong, also if you didn't notice already, Dresden Rex is the Dresden Slate from K Project. "Rex" meaning "King" is a word written on the slate itself.**


	2. Things Start to Get Interesting

Chapter 2: Things Start to Get Interesting

 **Okay second chapter! I have the plot sorta lined out, cuz I figured, I shouldn't just make chapters up as I go. Even though that was my original plan LOL. Please review! I would love some reviews to feed my ego, also it's nice hearing what you guys think about what I've written so far. It seems like my format got screwed up a bit, so I'm manually going in and adding italics where they're supposed to be. I might miss a few. Italics are Hana's thoughts btw. Alright, here we go!**

Hana's POV

 _Crap crap crappity crap._ I cursed as I slowly regained consciousness in a back alley. My body seems fine, but I have no clue where I am or what I'm doing here. I suddenly went from this weird room which Dresden implied was his consciousness to this dark alleyway.

 _Pull yourself together and focus on what's important now!_ I mentally chastised myself and took in my surroundings. _Sketchy alleyway? Check. Clothes? Check. Backpack? Check. Pink hair? Check. Wait hold up. Pink hair?_

 _NOOOOOOOO_. _This is so much worse than having white hair! God damn it. At least have it be blue! Pink is not my favorite color._ I pouted. Yeah, one would expect me to looooveee the color pink considering that my name means "flower" in Japanese. All dainty and what not right? Well nope. Not at all, I'm not one to shy away from danger or back away if someone is getting injured. After all, I've been taking martial arts classes since I was a kid, knew my way around pretty much any gun, and had been taking kendo lesson for years thanks to my overprotective parents.

I reached up to the tufts of hair sticking out of my ponytail and stared long and hard at the ends of it. They were completely pink! Yes, I suffered from the occasional white hair due to stress, but that was pretty much the only other color ever present in my typically ebony-colored hair.

 _Awww man, I'm going to need to hide this. Even if this is an anime world, pink hair is still pretty unusual and eye catching. I don't want to catch any unneeded attention._ Since I was wearing a hoodie due to the cold weather back in Berkeley, I could just zip it up all the way and pull the hoodie down over my head to conceal the color. _I'm going to murder Dresden for leaving me here, anything could have happened! I could be mugged or a gang could attack me as I look like a defenseless girl!_

"You stupid piece of trash! Get out of my sight!" I heard whimpering coming from further down the alley. _Aw no, I just have the worst luck don't I?_ I ran towards the source of the yelling.

"Hey! Stop it or else I'm calling the police!" I confronted the two teenage boys as I held out my phone, as if to call the police. In all honesty, it was a bluff because I didn't even know the police number to call in this world! It's probably different than '911.' It might link me to SCEPTR 4 actually. Hm.

"Tsk. This isn't worth our time." The two boys left after spitting on the ground by her feet as they passed by. They were both black haired with freckles and faces contorted in evil. Yes. It was pure evil, because they had been kicking a cat! I should've beaten them within an inch of their lives for this. Only the lowest scum would kick and abuse animals.

I turned my attention towards the injured animal as the boys left the alley. "Hey there, it's okay, I'm not going to hurt you." I cooed to the cat. Hold up, this isn't a cat, I realized as I took a closer look. It's a ferret! It hissed a little at me, then winced as it couldn't seem to get away from this stranger. It seemed like the ferret was domesticated as it had a collar around it, but no ID tag. How strange. I slowly crept closer and the ferret remain quiet, but curious as I slowly lifted my hands towards its body. I swear to Kami, Dresden said I gained powers and the only power I can think of that are useful to me are healing powers.

I would not want any other power that can be used to hurt others. As I concentrated on healing the poor wounded animal, my hands began to glow a soft pink color. Amazed, I continued to pour my energy into healing the animal, watching carefully to make sure I wasn't hurting her. Right before my eyes, it appeared as if the open gashes on her body were closing. I admired her fur, as the ferret resembles a smaller, longer, and skinnier cat, with a bushy tail. I used to have a cat back home before I moved to college. The ferret's body was black, but with small tufts of white fur decorating her face and body. "Ahh I'm going to name you Pepper." I whispered softly to the small animal as the last few bruises regained a normal pink color of the ferret's skin. I wanted to be sure that Pepper was comfortable with me, so I sat there for a few minutes, gently stroking her fur. She cautiously stood up and approached my fingers, sniffing them. Sensing that I wasn't going to harm her, she rubbed the top of her head against my hand, begging for her head to be petted. As I continued to gently stroke my fingers against her coat, she began to make these small snorting sounds and I paused, scared that I hurt her.

She had her eyes closed in contentment, but opened them back up in annoyment when I paused. She turned around and butted her head against my hand again to get my fingers working on her. Again, she made the snorting noise. I shrugged. Must be the ferret equivalent to purring?

After a good fifteen minutes, she seemed comfortable enough for me to pick her up and I place her around my neck, under the hoodie so she was hidden. She seemed to really enjoy lounging around my neck. In fact, as I lifted her towards my shoulder, she practically jumped under my hood to get comfortable. I chuckled and walked over to my backpack, putting it on.

I opened my phone to the camera app to see my appearance. At this point, I'm not surprised anymore. I'm 5' 5', have turquoise-colored eyes, and PINK hair. Man, I hope this is just some twisted sense of humor and my hair is just dyed pink. What a color combo. My features remained the same, other than some dimension-traveling perks such as clear skin and slightly larger-than-normal eyes. Even though my body seemed delicate, I knew that after fifteen years as a swimmer (yes, I started swimming when I was 3 years old), one of the faster track team members throughout high school, and a skilled martial artist and archer, that I was far from helpless. I doubt archery or swimming will come in handy in this type of world, if this really IS the K Project world.

Ignoring my new appearance, I researched what ferrets eat (yes the internet works!) and discovered that they eat a relatively simple diet, such as eggs and meat.

I headed towards the nearest convenience store as I was starving and so was Pepper. It seemed like an unusual app was downloaded onto my phone, which contained Yen. I could hover my phone above a machine and it would transfer the Yen to the machine as I bought the food I wanted. Funny, it seemed like there was quite a large amount of Yen stored in the app. Walking around the convenience store, I noticed something weird.

There were holograms floating around with prices and to purchase the news, it said to just hover your phone over it. It seemed like I could read and understand the text, even though it was in Japanese. I guess I also yelled at those boys back there in Japanese too.

Quickly scanning my newly purchased item (that downloaded and opened on my phone), there was something about the 10 year anniversary of the Kagutsu Crater Incident in the digital newspaper. Humming to myself, I found what I was looking for: the date.

"WHAT?!" I exclaimed aloud, slightly startling Pepper as she woke up from her nap and hissed in my ear to complain. I quickly covered my mouth with my hand and grinned sheepishly as other customers milling about stored at me.

One customer in particular, a boy around my age with a beanie and a skateboard stared at me as if to ask "What the hell is your problem?" But when he caught my eye his cheeks turned red and he looked away, saying nothing.

"Gomenasai." I slightly bowed my head towards those nearest to me. I walked out of that aisle to save myself from embarrassing myself further. I double checked the date on the newspaper, and it said October 18, 2009. _Awww man, I'm too early in the timeline, somewhere around two or three years too early. I went 9 years back in "time," since I'm from 2018. However, I don't know why I'm worrying about time when I'm in a different universe and I have strange powers. Wait, if I remember correctly from the spin offs, isn't Anna captured and tortured by this deranged madman who wanted her to become the Blue King? When does that happen…._

I resolved myself. I need to save Anna from that horrible place that called itself a hospital, when in fact it was just a cover for doing illegal human experiments. I can't believe the medical field would be abused like that. Anger seeped out from my body, but I struggled to rein it in, because I couldn't make a scene in public like this.

I made it to a park bench, where I watched the trash cans roam around, cleaning up trash. I found a comfortable seat and placed my backpack next to me. It's interesting to see the level of technology this dimension is in, even though they are in the year of 2009. I took out our lunches and clicked my tongue at Pepper, gesturing to my lap. Pepper jumped off of my neck and landed on my thighs, getting herself comfortable by circling and finally plopping down. She stares at me knowingly.

"Hai hai, here you go." I hand her bits and pieces of eggs and she chows down hungrily on them. A look of sadness crossed my face as I imagine how horrible Pepper must have been treated by her previous owners. She has no tag, even though she has a collar on. I take my katsu chicken sandwich out of the plastic wrap and chow down, occasionally breaking off a piece of chicken to feed it to Pepper. Satisfied, I sit on the bench, gently stroking Pepper's fur. I watch as people go by, high schoolers, office workers, groups in red, uniformed people in blue, a group of green-hooded boys and girls playing on their phones, seemingly engrossed in a game. I let out a large sigh.

"My, that's a large sigh you let out there. Did you know that every time you sigh, a small amount of happiness escapes?" A pretty, black-haired woman says as she takes a seat next to me.

I give her a small grin, "Is that so?"

"So what's troubling you?" The lady continues, her brown eyes watching the people milling about around us.

"I'm sorry, but I don't talk to strangers."

"Ah! I'm sorry, I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Honami Kushina, I'm a high school teacher. Sorry, you just reminded me so much of my niece, Anna, that I couldn't help but ask you what was wrong. She also gets that sad, far-away look in her eye just like you did. As if the whole world in on her shoulders and she has to bear the burden alone." Honami was serious for a few moments, then a smile crossed her face, "But it's alright! She's getting help from people so she'll be okay."

To me, it seemed as if she said that more for herself than for Anna or to me.

I gave her a genuine smile, knowing from her words, and also from my knowledge from the anime and manga, that Anna's aunt is a really nice person. "Thanks for stopping by, I guess it's nice to talk to someone. Sometimes it's hard for me to rely on others or ask them for help, but it means a lot to me that you stopped by. It's nice to meet you Honami-san, my name is Hana Kugawa."

"What a beautiful name, Hana. It's nice to meet you too. Actually, if you have some time, would you like to grab some tea in the cafe over there?" Honami suggested.

"Sure! That sounds great. Pepper, come here." Pepper jumped around my neck, fitting in snugly between my hood and my neck. "Do you mind if Pepper comes along? She's one of my few friends since I recently moved to Shizume City."

"That's no problem at all! Pepper's adorable. What breed is she? She doesn't really look like a cat, but she sort of resembles one."

"She's a ferret, they're domesticated animals. They're really nice and playful, they love to be adventurous." Hana gave Pepper an appreciative one-finger pat on the head.

"She seems very loyal, kind of like some students I used to teach." Honami commented as she cooed at Pepper.

"Where are those students now? Do you normally keep in contact with high school students? I'm in university now, so I always wonder if my high school teachers think of me."

"They run a bar now. Hahaha you have such a surprised face! Yeah, I visit once in a while. I was really shocked when I found out too, that these troublesome boys of mine have a business that they run. They're around your age too." Honami signaled to the waiter for a table of 2.

The waiter ushered them to the back, near a window.

"Arigato." Honami and Hana said at the same time to the waiter, who bowed and attended to other customers to give them time to look at the menu. They made eye contact with each other and gave out a brief laugh.

As they both scanned the menu, Hana asked Honami, "You mentioned a niece, Anna right? Where is she now? Is she okay? You seemed concerned about her."

"Well she's at Nanakamado Chemotherapy Research Center now, because she has a brain disease of some sort." Honami commented sadly. At the mention of the Center's name, Hana stiffened slightly, unnoticeable to Honami.

They both ordered their drinks as the waiter arrived in that awkward pause.

"I'm sorry to hear that. I'm actually studying to be a doctor, because I've always loved saving people. Do you know the name of the doctor treating her? Maybe I've heard about it in my studies." Hana covertly probed for more information.

"Uhhh, yeah, I believe his name is Kōshi Mizuchi. He seemed like a very caring person."

Very caring person my ass. That fucking piece of garbage. It's him all right, now that she's said his name I remember him. From what the manga said, he is a doctor and he worked for the Gold Clan. He conducts human experiments and tortures Anna because he thinks she will be the next Blue King. Hana put a contemplative look on her face, "I don't believe I've heard his name before. How long has she been there if you don't mind me asking?"

"Ah, she went there yesterday actually. It hasn't been that long and I miss her already. That's why I called out to you today." Honami sipped her drink quietly.

YES. Okay, I need to contact HOMRA without getting Honami panicked. "I'm glad you did, I'm enjoying our time together. It's always nice to make new friends when moving to a new city. Actually, you mentioned your two students right? Some of my university friends are looking for a good bar to go to, would you mind giving me the address of the bar? I'd love to try out a new bar and give your students some business."

Honami eyed me curiously, "You're over 20 right?"

I gave small laugh, "Yeah, do I look that young?" Man, these lies were too easy. I may have to compromise my integrity a bit in order to save Anna faster. It's not like I'm going to drink anyways. I'd probably be a bad drunk. Also, I don't have a valid ID or PDA. My driver's license says I'll be 21 in 2021, and it's 2009! My ID says it was given in 2016, so that would raise a looooottt of questions. Ah, I guess I'll have to look for some fake ID of sort.

Honami shrugged her shoulder, "I always like to ask. I need to make sure I'm not promoting underage drinking."

* * *

I looked up at the HOMRA sign that said closed. Eh I'm not surprised since it's 3PM. Not many bars are open at 3PM. Despite that, I knew that Anna was in trouble and I don't know how the manga continues from here on out, but I need to make sure Anna gets out okay. I took a deep breath and pushed open the mahogany doors and walked in.

Looking around the space, it was like that from the anime, a comfortable, beautiful bar in the back with a black couch off to the side. A few tables and chairs decorated the rest of the space. There were a few boys in the room, Mikoto lounging on the black couch I mentioned earlier, Tatara sitting on one of the red bar chairs with a guitar, and Misaki and a few of the others… uhhh Rikio and Shohei if I remembered their names correctly. As always, Izumo was behind the bar wiping it down as he kept a watchful eye on the boys messing around in his bar. Something's missing, they need Anna. They aren't complete without her.

I stood there for a good 2 minutes until Misaki noticed me and stuttered, "A g-g-girl is here! W-w-hy is s-she here!"

I face palmed. "Yes I'm a girl and I need your help." The room was quiet as everyone looked at me. "We need to save Anna."

"Anna?" Izumo questioned as he flicked his lighter open to light his cigarette. For any normal person, the flame would be unnoticeable, but for someone who is aware of their powers, it was a subtle threat. "How d'ya know her?"

Everyone kept their eyes locked on me except for Mikoto who didn't even bother to open his eyes.

"It's a long story, but my name is Hana Kugawa, and my furry friend here is Pepper. We met Honami-san this afternoon and she told me about Anna going to Nanakamado Chemotherapy Research Center. I know that hospital, it's one that experiments on strains and tortures them. You have to save her, I don't have enough power to do it alone! Please! At this moment she's being tortured by this insane doctor. I'll tell you everything as soon as we save her!"

Mikoto seemed to stir at this considering Honami used to be their high school teacher. I would've expected a large outburst of accusations, but what I didn't expect was Mikoto slowly sitting up and making eye contact with me. He proceeded to stand up from the couch and walk out of the door.

Tatara laughs. "Alright guys, let's go get her!" The rest of the boys leave the room, following their King and I stand there a bit shell shocked. Tatara gently grabs me by the elbow pulling me along.

"Hey, don't worry. You can explain some of the things happening as we get there. We won't hurt you."

"You guys believe me? I barely told you anything. How can you trust me?" I whisper to Tatara.

"Ma ma, it's all going to turn out fine. If King trusts you, then we trust you too! Plus, I have a feeling we're all going to become good friends." Tatara finishes with his signature smile on his face.

His reassurance worked, and a smile found its way onto my face. We both jog to catch up to the group.

(Line Break)

* * *

At the train station:

I flipped through my phone, finding the contact saved on here by Dresden most likely. Or some sort of force that is giving me cheats through my phone. I don't know. But I had few numbers on my phone, with contacts of a silver crown, a gold crown, a red crown, a green crown, and a grey crown. Instead of labeling the King's numbers with their name, it seems like their contact names are colored crown emojis. Cute.

I clicked on the gold crown emoji and started a new chat:

Me: "I think you should research your clan member, Kōshi Mizuchi. He's conducting illegal experiments on strains. I recommend sending some Gold Clan Members to Nanakamado Chemotherapy Research Center to help us arrest him."

Daikaku: "Who is this and how did you get this number."

Me: "I'm just a friend, Gold King. My name's Hana. Dresden Rex sent me, if you understand my meaning. I'll tell you about the situation later. Trust me on this and you won't regret it."

 **Wowwww that was a long chappie! Hana is making a lot of promises isn't she? My oh my. Again, please review! It's nice knowing that people are reading this. I WILL promise, though, no backstabbing or betrayals, because honestly, who likes that sort of stuff? I'll do my best to finish this entire story within a year or so, because if I don't then I know I won't ever finish it :0. King for sure has a soft spot for Anna, I mean, who wouldn't! Also, a side note is Hana cusses a lot when kids are not around. Well, not a lot, but she does like to mix it into her sentences when she's feeling particularly angry. Especially when describing pieces of shits like the bastard who experimented on Anna. Whoops, sorry there she goes again.**


	3. Sketchy Hospitals

Chapter 3: Sketchy Hospitals

October 18, 2009

In the Timeless Palace:

Daikaku Kokujōji, often known as the Gold King, looked up from his PDA. He snapped his fingers in the air, summoning an Usagi.

The Usagi bowed before his King and waited for his orders. Their uniforms consist of a black yukata with gold markings trimmed with red and black trousers. The yukata is tied by a white strap with a white puff on the back, resembling a rabbit's tail. The Usagi's gold mask covered half of his face, but Daikaku knows every member's identity.

The Gold King ordered his right hand man/Usagi: "Send 3 Usagis to Nanakamado Chemotherapy Research Center, I want you to take Kōshi Mizuchi in for questioning. Alive. Also, tell Hana that she's allowed to do what she wants, just this once. You are dismissed." The Usagi bowed and without another word, exited the room.

(Line break)

* * *

Train:

"We catch a train to the hospital? I didn't know it's that far away." I look around at the group of red clansmen. The train car we were in was empty except for us.

The normal pedestrians on the train knew who they were or sensed that it was in their best interest to stay away from these dangerous looking men. I saw a few give me some pitiful looks from the other train cars as if I was some helpless girl.

Irritated, I pouted and pulled down my hood to reveal my face and hair.

"What pretty hair! Can I braid it?" Tatara exclaimed, running his hands on a few strands of my medium-length pink hair. *Snort*.

"Wahhh!" Tatara backed up in surprise at the snorting noise.

I bent over in laughter, "Daijoubu, Daijoubu! It's Pepper saying she's happy. I think you accidentally pet her. Here, if you want, you can hold her." I clicked my tongue and held out my arms. Pepper lazily looked at me, yawned, and snuggled back into my hair. My face heated up in embarrassment. "Ahhh, I guess she's tired? She's had a long day, sorry about her behavior. She really likes to sleep a lot."

Rikio and Shouhei laugh at Tatara, teasing him about getting a girlfriend. If possible, my face turns a darker shade of red. I face away from the them, noticing Misaki in the corner, obviously avoiding me. I approach him quietly, and then when I'm right behind him, I ask, "Hey, are you okay? You're in the corner here all alone."

"AHHHHH!" Misaki jumps away from me, further into the corner (which I didn't even know was possible), and tripping over himself.

I couldn't hold it in anymore, I laughed at him. Then I stopped laughing as I noticed the guys were staring at me, again. "Wh-what? Do I have something on my face?"

"No, it's just you have a pretty laugh Hana-san. We haven't heard you laugh yet." Tatara smiles as the boys back him up. Ah the tomato face has returned. I put my hood back on.

"No, no, don't be embarrassed Kugawa-san." Shohei reassured.

"Wait, I just realized, you all know my name, but I don't know any of yours…" They all sweat-dropped.

"Whoops, I can't believe we forgot to introduce ourselves! We all felt so at each with you, it seemed as if we've known each other for a while. I'm Tatara Totsuka by the way!" Tatara exclaimed. Wow, he really hit the hammer on the mark, because it's true. I do know about some of them, their general pasts, and well I guess their futures in this case. Taking on his typical role of breaking the ice, Tatara continued to introduce everyone else, "The boy in the corner there who can't talk to girls is Misaki Yata."

"Oi!" Misaki held up his fist threateningly, but Tatara just laughed it off.

"And the one smoking there is Izumo Kusanagi, he owns the bar." Said bar owner just placed tinted sunglasses on his eyes and blew smoke out of his mouth. "Next, we have Rikio Kamamoto and Shohei Akagi, they're really nice kids. They just love messing around a bit too much."

Tatara and Hana watched as Rikio and Shohei teased Misaki and Misaki knuckled them both in the head. Rikio Kamamoto has dyed blonde hair and a small goatee. He's on the heavier side and today was wearing a white hoodie zipped up to the top, with metal chain necklaces hanging down to his chest. Shohei Akagi had a black cap on his head, that had the letters "HMR" obviously standing for HOMRA, with a fire background. He had on a white tee and a casual red sweater on top.

Tatara inclined his head towards where Mikoto was lounging on a train seat. "That's our King, Mikoto Suoh. He's the best King we could've asked for. Mikoto and Izumo were actually once students of Honami-san."

"Hm, I know." I hummed my agreement. I took that moment to study Mikoto, he looked exactly like in the anime, but even more handsome if possible. I guess it's the fact that he's 3D instead of 2D now. His red hair was slicked back and he had a cigarette casually placed in his mouth. Along with his typical white shirt and black jeans, he had a chain hanging off of the left side of his belt loops. But something was missing… How odd. He didn't have his signature star pendant necklace hanging around his neck. I wonder if that happens later on in the anime. "Honami-san mentioned those two. She is really proud of them."

"Kugawa-san?"

"Ah, Kusanagi-san, just call me Hana."

"Okay, Hana, how d'ya not know where the hospital is, but know tha' Anna is in danger?" Izumo asked neutrally. It seemed as if he was just probing for information, not looking to upset me or accuse me of anything. He was referencing my earlier comment, because I didn't know we needed to take a train in order to get to the hospital.

I froze a bit, trying to gather my thoughts. "It's hard to explain, and honestly I'm not sure if you guys would believe me."

The red clan looked at each other, and Izumo sighed, "Try us. We've got ya. It's not as unbelievable as ya think it is." They knew about Anna who could 'feel things," and suspected she was a strain this entire time. But there wasn't anything they could do until Hana came bursting into their bar, asking for help.

 _Ah. So they think I'm a strain who knows about the clans, but is scared of revealing herself. Well they're in for a surprise._

"Well, it's a story that needs to be explained another time. I can't say it here in public. It wouldn't be safe. But I'm speaking the truth. Right now, Anna needs our help." Hana glanced around. Even though there weren't any people in the train car, who knows how advanced their technology is. There are probably cameras and microphones in each car to monitor the safety of pedestrians. I noticed our train rolling up to the train station which had the hospital labeled on there. "Hey guys, I think this is our stop."

Izumo sighs and looks at Hana, "Okay, but our conversation isn't over yet."

We approach the hospital and from what I recall in the manga. It's the building off to the side that doesn't appear as a part of the hospital. It appears as if it's on a neighboring land. But I know better. There are secret passageways so Mizuchi can have full access to the patients. I check my phone, that conveniently had a map of the building uploaded into it. Again, more cheats? If Dresden is screwing with the plot then I'm gonna, oh. Wait, I'm screwing with the plot just by being here. But I can't let Anna suffer any longer. I don't give a fuck about the plot if I can save Anna and Tatara. Looking at the digital map on my phone, I point towards the unassuming building. "Anna's in there. How are we going to get in though? Eh, chotto matte guys, wait for me!" Hana struggles to catch up as the clan continues to follow their King who made a beeline for the building as soon as Hana pointed it out. "How are we going to get in this way?"

"Just watch. We are the RED Clan." Yata explained.

"No Blood. No Bone. No Ash." The clan gave a quick battle cry before burning through the thick fence and right into the building. _Ah. I forgot about that. Okay, I guess this means I can test out my powers? To see if there's more than just healing. I was expecting to have some time to cultivate them and figure out exactly what I can do, but I guess this pressure is the best way to test them out. If things go wrong, I have my own physical abilities that I can rely on and my medical knowledge._

"We are not being very inconspicuous guys!" I chastised as I pointed towards where we needed to go next. "The research area is further in, towards the basement. We need to go down this staircase." Before they headed down, I took a look at the side of the building that was melted off. I decided to try my powers out then. The clan stopped and looked at me as I stood by the wall.

"Hana-chan, what's taking you so long?" Tatara called out.

I concentrated on the wall, channeling my inner Doctor Strange. I visualized the structure of the wall and its previous condition. I held both hands out and turned my right hand counter-clockwise to reverse the time space of the area. The melted wall returned back to its normal shape. _Okay. Damn. That was too easy. How suspicious. What sort of powers did I get from Dresden! Time-reversal and healing so far. This doesn't sound good. This is starting to sound like one of those fanfics with OP OC characters. Eh, but it's me. It's not like I'm going to go on a killing spree and kill all those evil bastards who thought about hurting my friends. Oh wait. That sounds just like me. Ehhhh I'm sure it'll all turn out okay, I wouldn't actually KILL them. Just beat them to a pulp._

The boys gaped at me as Mikoto nodded his head once in approval. I brushed myself off and walked ahead, slightly blushing at Mikoto's rare sign of acknowledgement. As they followed my complicated directions, we pushed further and further into the hospital. _Why is no one stopping us, we didn't even use the front door. Their security is so lax what the heck!_ At that moment, the group came across a large locked door that prevented them from moving more into the building.

Mikoto's aura spiked as he was ready to walk through the door. As Mikoto melted the door, Izumo reminded Hana and Tatara why they brought them along. "Anna's grown somewhat attached t'ya, so look after her when we rescue her. Also Hana's a girl, unlike the rest of us brutes so she's more likely to trust the both of ya than any of us."

I took that moment to try and reach out to Anna. Since I'm connected with all of the kings and technically Anna has the power to be the Red King in the future, let's see how this goes.

(Line Break)

* * *

Inside the Research Center:

"Have you learned your lesson?" Mizuchi sneered at Anna. "You're a dangerous person. Your current existence brings harm to those around you."

Anna listened quietly to Mizuchi's words. When her parents died, she closed off her heart, erased her emotions, and became something like a doll. But despite doing this, HOMRA opened up her heart. She went and had fun with them, letting them in. Anna closed her eyes.

"Tell me one thing. Did you kill mom and dad?" Even though the room was monochrome to her, the truth was evident.

"Of course not." What a blatant lie. His tone was so thinly veiled, it didn't even attempt to hide the truth beneath it. "You have the caliber of a king. If you were to lean on a normal person, you'd do nothing but make them unhappy."

"I won't leave here anymore. So don't do anything to Honami-san."

 _ANNA!_ Anna's eyes widened at the unfamiliar voice in her head. _Hang in there! We're coming to save you. I promise, I promise I'll always save you, no matter what! Please, don't listen to him. We care about you. Just hang on, we're almost there!_ Anna glanced at Mizuchi under her white eyelashes, but Mizuchi had taken on a compassionate expression. It seemed as if he didn't hear this strange voice.

"You don't need to have such a tragic determination. If you become able to control your powers, and if you manage to reach the Dresden Slate - if you manage to become a king, there will no longer be any need for you to be locked up here. You should go out under the sun and rule openly." Mizuchi reached up to stroke Anna's hair.

 _That fucking bastard. If he touches you again I AM CUTTING OFF THAT FUCKING HAND._

"Stop." Anna said in a quiet voice. She walked towards the slate. "I should just become the blue king, right."

(Line Break)

* * *

"THAT FUCKING BASTARD, HE TOUCHED ANNA'S HAIR. HE'S FORCING HER TO BECOME THE BLUE KING. I'M GOING TO MURDER HIM. GUYS, HURRY UP." Hana bolted faster than the other guys, even faster than Misaki on his skateboard. Mikoto had already burned through the door, and they approached the part of the building Anna was hidden in.

The red clan increased their speed at Hana's exclamation.

(Line Break)

* * *

Center's security room:

From the Center's security room, Hayato Minato and Akito Minato, two blue clansmen, faced their replacement leader, Gen Shiotsu. This whole fiasco started because the blue clan did not have an acting king. That was why Mizuchi was forcing Anna through inhumane experiments. It was in order to create a new Blue King. Anna wasn't the only one though. He performed those inhumane experiments on other strains too.

"Are those guys going to come to take that little girl back? I wonder why Mizuchi-san is so focused on that girl?" Hayato and Akito asked Gen in turns. They weren't aware of Mizuchi's plans to turn Anna into the Blue King, and they didn't know for that sake she was being forced through those god-awful experiments. Even if they knew, they wouldn't have done anything to help her. If they could gain a Blue King and their position could improve, they would probably be glad. In addition, the twins didn't comprehend how dangerous their current situation was. They're like little children who were given a change to use their powers under the name of "justice."

Gen, the Blue Clan's Commander during the absence of a King, mulled over these bitter thoughts. He didn't have the willpower to answer their questions or explain the danger to them. "They've already infiltrated part of the building. Gather our people and set a guard, don't let them get any further! Be prepared for a fight, and shut out the civilians."

"Understood." The twins answered in unison.

(Line break break breakity break)

* * *

Back with the red clan:

As they entered the second part of the building, there were blue clansmen lined up, creating a barrier and preventing them from entering the other half. "Red King and his clansmen, this is your final warning." Said one of the twins, Hayato.

"Even if you are a king, it won't be forgiven for you to enter another clan's territory without prior procedures. We request your departure." Said the other twin, Akito.

In response to the twin's blunt warning, Mikoto glared at them, then opened his mouth, annoyed: "We're here to pick up one of us."

"Are you talking about Anna Kushina?" Said Hayato. Mikoto didn't answer, but the silence alone was enough of an answer. Hayato continued, "She is a strain who couldn't control her own powers and harmed many people. This center has responsibility to take care of her and educate her. You said she is one of yours, but Anna Kushina should not be a red clansman. It is not your place to do anything."

"Actually, they do have permission to enter." Everyone in the room tensed as three Usagis entered. No one noticed him and the two lackeys behind him enter the room. "Hana-sama has gained the permission from Kokujōji-sama, the Gold King, to enter the building, and ah-em, 'do what she wants, just this once.'"

"Alright guys, let's get a move on! We don't have time to be wasting dawlding about. Took you Usagis long enough to arrive. Give your King my sincere thanks and tell him that I'll come by to visit soon enough." Hana walked past the Minato twins and the blue's formation.

The corners of Mikoto's mouth twitched upwards slightly, Izumo shook his head, and Tatara gave a shrug. Misaki followed in bewilderment and the other two red clansmen followed their King.

The blues stood off to the side, unsure of how to proceed from there. One Usagi was left to keep an eye on the blue clan, while the other 2 Usagis, including the one who made the announcement, followed us.

 _I hope we can avoid some of the torture Anna. We're almost there. Hang on, please._

 **Sorry! *Hides face in embarrassment* Some parts of this story were a bit of fluff and cringe, but I wanted to add more to the story than just this and that happened. I don't know if anyone noticed, but apparently Fushimi is supposed to still be in the Red Clan at this point. I decided to not have him here, because I didn't want to deal with his drama with Misaki. Sorry guys, just kiss and make up, don't complicate my story further because there's a lot more happening in the future as is. Also the plot changed a bit. Butttt it still follows the general timeline I believe! Ugh, please don't judge my fanfic on this chapter, it'll get better, I promise. Actually the next chapter…. Hmmmm I didn't particularly enjoy writing it, because for those who read K: Side: Red, you know what happened to poor Anna. Don't worry Anna, everything will turn out fine, just like what Tatara says right?**

 **Please reviewwww. Do you guys think I put in too much dialogue? Do I need more? Should I not go into so much detail? Or ya'know. You can just favorite and follow. That makes me happy too.**

 **Shout out to** ** _Scarlett Uzumaki-Chan_** **for the favorite and follow!**


	4. Saving Anna

Chapter 4: Saving Anna

 **A/N:** Please leave behind a comment! I would love some feedback on how my story is going. Is it too slow? Too much dialogue?

 **Also, please keep reading! I just wrote a scene a few chapters ahead and IT'S REALLY GOOD. No, seriously, like I'm really proud of it. Now I just need to write everything from here to that scene. I'm super excited! Please follow this story! I promise it'll be amazing, at least that chapter will be. And I follow through on my promises ;).**

 **Warnings: Fight scenes! Funnn… They're from K: Side: Red so if you've read that, some of this may seem familiar.**

October 18, 2009

The Red Clan, including Hana Kugawa and the 2 Usagis proceeded through the hospital. The Usagis kept an eye on the Red Clan, wary of their destructive power. _I'm really surprised the Gold King let us do what we want. I didn't know Dresden Rex is such a powerful name. If Dresden sent me, then there must have been a reason. Ha. And I doubt that old man was clueless. He knew what was going on, but was "strategically" waiting for a move from the Red Clan._

The group headed towards the elevators in the back that would head towards the basement. When the Usagis placed their PDAs on the elevator, it denied them access. Even with masks on, it was clear to see the confusion on the Usagis' faces. This building belongs to the Gold Clan and as such, the Usagis should have access to it. However, their security clearance was denied as if someone knew that those close to the Gold King would come snooping one of these days.

"It looks like Anna-chan's in the basement after all, but I guess it won't be easy to get down there, huh… I think it'd be quickest to have someone tell us how." Tatara's relaxed voice carried over the group.

Izumo went "hmmm" and looked up at the ceiling. Right then, behind him from the shadow of the open door, a blue clansman who had his saber out attacked Kusanagi by swinging his blade down at Kusanagi's back. He was fast. He closed the distance by leaping forward, and the saber's blade was about to rip open Kusanagi's shoulder.

Without even turning around, Kusanagi flicked the butt of his cigarette _*cough* cancer stick *cough*_ behind him. The lit tobacco came up front of the blue clansman's eyes, and the next instant the tiny flame expanded and swelled, sending him flying backwards.

"Those stupid blues. Don't even know how to communicate properly with each other. They're supposed to let us right through! If it's a fight they want, it's a fight they'll get!" Misaki twirled his bat across his shoulders, from one side to the other.

"Ma ma, Misaki-chan, calm down. We need to get to Anna-chan as fast as possible."

"Don't call me that, baka!"

A man in a white coat who appeared to be a researcher had been peeking out of the room and trying to see what was going on when his eyes met with Kusanagi's and his shoulders shook.

Kusanagi moved his long legs and went right into the middle of the room. The man in the white coat jumped and readied himself, but then took a combat stance upon seeing Kusanagi approach. It was obvious Kusanagi was going to torture this doctor for information. Not saying he doesn't deserve it, but let's make things a bit quicker now shall we.

I skipped into the room and called out, "Wait a minute Kusanagi-san."

"Hi mister, I know you're a doctor, but I also know what you've been doing to the Strains who are powerful. You guys have been collecting them for your own selfish reasons right? What's their names, Pyrotechnic, Senkouki, and Grasshopper right?" The doctor first relaxed when I came in, thinking that I'm a harmless girl. After hearing me reveal some of their secrets, he tensed up and starting shaking.

"N-no one is s-s-sup-posed to k-know about t-t-that! W-who a-are you p-people?"

I grinned, satisfied by his answer, "your worst nightmare." At that, he promptly fainted. Wow, men these days. So weak. "Usagi-san, please put some handcuffs on this guy. I don't know how much he participated in those inhumane experiments, but he knows something about it for sure. Here, we need his biometrics, put his fingerprint on here while I scan his ID."

The Usagi proceeded to handcuff the guy while I dug into his coat pocket and produced the ID tag. The Usagi propped the guy up and placed his finger on the scanner while I held the ID up. The elevators opened and the rest of us proceeded into the elevator.

The Usagi who handcuffed the doctor stayed on the ground floor with Rikio and Shohei in case more blues went rogue and came after them. Hana, Mikoto, Misaki, Tatara, Izumo, and 1 Usagi headed down into the basement.

Apparently the elevator didn't even go all the way down. The further down someone went, the more dangerous and powerful the Strains kept there are. In order to get to the basement level, one would have to switch to a different elevator in the basement and would need a higher level key.

At the moment, they would only be able to reach the floor with secret research rooms with a Level A clearance. It didn't appear as if the Usagi knew about these secret rooms with different clearances. Everyone in the elevator, except for Tatara and the King prepared for some opponents to be waiting on the other side.

Indeed, when the doors opened, there were a few Blues. But they didn't attack as the door opened.

One man in particular stood out as the leader of the Blues. His brown hair was slicked back and he looked to be in his thirties. He had quite a scary expression on his face as his eyes met Kusanagi's.

Kusanagi smiled bitterly, he spoke to the others without turning around, "Sorry.. Could ya go on ahead?"

"Kusanagi-san?" Tatara called out to him questioningly.

Kusanagi smiled and shrugged, "This guy's my buddy. I'm goin' to talk with him a little, so you guys go on and get Anna-chan."

The man in blue standing in front of them often frequented the bar, and it appeared as if those two were on good terms.

But that didn't stop either of them from holding back during their fight.

(Line Break)

* * *

The group continued down another elevator, but as the doors opened a loud thud was heard. The sound and blast from an explosion flowed in through the gap in the doors like a rapid river. Mikoto didn't tense up in the slightest, just simply canceled out the blast with the red aura that softly emitted from his body.

I felt the warmth comfortably slide over and engulf us in a protective barrier. It didn't seem to harm me or the red clansmen at all, but the Gold Usagi seemed uncomfortable and emitted his own Gold aura to shield himself from the blast.

As they stepped out of the elevator and onto the ground, a sharp blade whirled out of the lingering smoke from the blast. Misaki jumped in front of the group and blocked the blade with his baseball bat. Misaki attempted to grab the attacker, but the attacker was able to slip out of Misaki's grip somehow and jumped back a few feet. Misaki kept his eyes on the swordsman.

"That was close, that was close. I was about to get crushed to death all of a sudden" The attacker with a sword and movement like a grasshopper said while letting out a breath.

"Anyways, Grasshopper, they sure are making us go too far." Said a man with a small stature from the opposite side of the attacker. His hand held a powerful energy, and it was shining while letting off crackles that made it seem like it could explode at any second. This was probably the man who attacked them as soon as the elevator doors opened.

"Let us through. We have permission from the Gold Clan to arrest Kōshi Mizuchi." The Usagi finally spoke up.

The Strains ignored the Usagi. In fact, his words seemed to even spur them on. "Going too far was part of the job description wasn't it Pyrotechnic? There's no way they'd let us off for our crimes if it wasn't something dangerous." Said Grasshopper.

A large man whose body was wrapped in thick, armor-like muscles walked out of the smoke. He was a whole head taller than Mikoto. The big man laughed, letting off a sinister murderous intent, "M'name's Senkouki. M'heart's dancing, let's fight Red King."

The large man kicked off from the floor, his body flying straight through the air like an arrow. In the next second, he was facing Mikoto and he sent a strong uppercut at Mikoto.

"Heh…" Mikoto didn't even move an inch as he blocked the man's fist and smirked a bit. It seemed like he was enjoying this. He raised his arm with a light movement and threw off Senkouki's arm which was trying to break his barrier. The man's fist ended up being deflected into the wall, making a large hole.

"A Strain, huh." Mikoto commented lazily as he looked around at the ones surrounding them.

"I guess they're the dangerous Strains that are kept down here, huh." Said Tatara while tilting his head. "It seems like they've been told they'll be let free if they beat the Red King."

"M'different. They gave me the offer, sure, but the reason why m'here is cause the chance to fight with the Red King himself is a prize to me." As he said that, the large man's eyes sparkled like those of a child.

Grasshopper called out, "His crime's murder. He's also called 'Strain-killer.' He's a perv who can't have fun with anything but fighting strong people."

Senkouki, Grasshopper, and Pyrotechnician all readied themselves to destroy the Red King.

As they lunged towards Mikoto, Misaki jumped in front of Grasshopper, blocking his attack, "Hey, your fight's with me!"

On the other side, the Usagi sent a barrier at Pyrotechnician, controlling the crackling power bursts until it dissipated. "We may not be on the same team, Red King, but these Strains seem to have gone rogue. It's clear that Kōshi Mizuchi is a traitor and has been conducting illegal experiments without our knowledge. We always suspected something, which was why we constantly had surprise evaluations of the hospital, but we were never aware of this wing."

Mikoto ignored the Usagi and blocked Senkouki's charging fist again, and pushed away the fist he blocked. Senkouki spun as he went flying, but dexterously straightened his large body in midair and landed. Mikoto looked down at the palm he used to block. There was a small black abrasion on the skin. He smirked. He was having a lot of fun.

"Hey." While looking in the direction of the Strains, Mikoto spoke to Hana behind him. "Can you stand the heat?"

I stared at Mikoto, if he were to turn around we would be making eye contact. "Yes, don't worry about me. I can protect myself."

"Tatara. Can I?" Mikoto spoke again.

When Tatara was asked in that faintly cheerful voice, Tatara shrugged his shoulders. "... if you'll be with me when Kusanagi-san chews us out later?" He said that in a tone that had exasperation mixed in, making Mikoto laugh voicelessly.

The next instant, power shot out from his body towards Senkouki.

(Line break)

* * *

Anna shuddered and raised her head.

She had been trying to contact the slate. Even if her skin was burned or she was sunk into water, she was immediately healed.

"There won't be any scars left on your body. Nor will there be any after effects. Of course, you won't die, either. Right now, we're just giving you the stimulation you need. Your powers become more sensitive the more you've driven into a corner." Mizuchi said this with a smile on his face.

The water was nearly up to Anna's face. Until just a moment ago, it was above her head and stealing away her breath. In order to escape the pain of her body, Anna had been tearing her consciousness and senses away from it and sending them towards the tower's 'Slate."

Despite being a floor above, Anna could sense the fight occurring. Behind her eyes, she could see that Mikoto was smiling. Power that couldn't be contained within his body was spilling out as red light. Anna could sense the source of the red shine spilling out from his heart, a violet sea of red. The pure red magma boiled and twisted. She figured that anything that touched it would melt away in an instant, it was a terrifying red world.

"...pretty…" This one word escaped Anna's lips. The fearful red world, the world within Mikoto, charmed Anna. She felt safe, just like she felt when the strange lady's voice echoed in her head. Anna wondered where the lady went.

The next second, the ceiling in the corner of the room exploded into red.

(Line Break)

* * *

Mikoto suddenly stopped moving and glanced downwards. He went "hmph" when Senkouki was about to lunge at him again. Although Mikoto was about to take another hit from the front, his mood suddenly changed and he deflected the hit with his arm, grabbed the guy, and tossed him. The man twice the size of Mikoto went flying through the air.

Senkouki made a face after he was thrown and noticed Mikoto looking distracted and he spun around in the air to land. "Stop lookin' away, Red King."

"I'll leave things here to you." Mikoto addressed Misaki and the Usagi as he came to a final decision.

"Tatara. Punk." Even though they were in the middle of a battle, he spoke casually to Tatara and Hana.

"Yeah?" They both responded. _Wait why am I responding to being called a punk!_

Mikoto made a 'come here' gesture with his finger, without looking at them. Tatara and Hana made eye contact, their eyebrows drawn down in confusion. Despite this, they both approached Mikoto.

"Get ready."

"Huh?"

After Tatara and Hana stood on either side of him, without a single word of explanation, Mikoto focused his power directly below him. Red light full of energy spilled out from beneath them and hit the ground.

The floor beneath them broke like a chocolate bar when it was hit by Mikoto's power. A big hole appeared around them and the floor crumbled down to the hallway below. They fell along with it. Mikoto landed lightly, while Tatara and Hana managed to get down alright thanks to the small red barrier Mikoto put up around them.

As they looked up, they saw Anna trapped in the a water-filled glass container and people in lab coats standing frozen at their appearance. Angered, Mikoto sent out a pure red energy pulse that knocked the lab coats unconscious and broke the glass container Anna was floating in. Water spilled out onto the floor as the glass shattered.

"Anna!"

"Anna-chan!"

Tatara and I yelled out in concern, scared that she might have been cut by the glass.

Anna had slumped to the ground, coughing. Despite her coughs, she looked baffled by the ceiling abruptly breaking and the sudden appearance of Mikoto, Tatara, and Hana.

The expression on Anna's face was a clear mix of surprise, and bafflement, and the look of someone who didn't know what to do. She wanted to stay with them, but knew that she also shouldn't. Mizuchi had brainwashed her for far too long, she didn't know what to do.

Hana, Tatara, and Mikoto all began to approach Anna.

"Get back, Red King." It was a voice filled with strong hatred. I looked up at the entrance way as we all turned around. There was a man in a lab coat, giving off a golden light from his body with anger in his voice. It was Mizuchi.

"So you're the guy who was gonna use a brat for stupid stuff." In contrast, Mikoto's face was expressionless.

In response to Mikoto, who looked relaxed, Mizuchi's fists shook. "Have you ever even thought about what you're drawing power from? You just enjoy your power without a thought… I suppose you're fine like that. King of destruction, king of violence, king who is but a mere flame to be snuffed out by the wind." He spoke with anger and insult clear in his words. "Don't get in my way. There's no way you, who just swings the power you gained around, would understand, but that Slate has the power to even change humanity's future. I am going to get near that Slate and discover that power… this experiment performed with Kushina's assistance is the first step towards that. This is something connected to humanity's evolution!"

 _Ah he must be talking about Dresden. Funny, I was the one who connected with what he calls the Slate, but who I know as Dresden Rex. He speaks about forcing these sorts of things and doing all of these horrible experiments in order to do what I did on accident. That this would somehow be connected to humanity's evolution. Well lemme tell you here and now, jerk, I will never be used for something like that and neither will Anna._ The shadows on my face deepened as his words began to anger me. How DARE he do this to an innocent eight year old girl like Anna. This bastard is the lowest of the low.

Mikoto continued to look on with a straight face. Tatara looked up at that face out of the corner of his eye and spoke up, "You're not even listening, are you?"

"... my ears can't pick up on nonsense."

"How convenient." Honestly, Tatara wasn't surprised by the King's answer.

Mizuchi's face turned black with the color of anger, if Mikoto wasn't listening to him, he would order his pretty little Strain around. "Kushina, you understand, yes?"

Anna's shoulders shook when she heard Mizuchi's words. She weakly stood up.

"Return to that room. You have your work to do."

As though to tie down Anna whose feet were about to back up, Mikoto's eyes landed on her. "Anna."

Hana and Tatara quietly stepped to the side.

 _Come here._ Hana's voice echoed inside Anna's head. _You're safe now. We'll protect you._

"Anna." Mikoto repeated.

Before she could even think, her body had moved. She ran.

Leaving behind all of her duties, unease, fear, and everything else, she ran to the red that filled her world. As she ran, for some reason, she felt her eyes become blurry. How strange, she couldn't see well. What a shame, since she had such as pretty red in front of her. She ran straight into Mikoto and buried her face in his leg.

He caught her, "... don't strain yourself for not reason, brat." Mikoto's warm hands roughly petted Anna's head once, before he immediately took her by the collar and pulled her away. Like a kitten, she was held up by her scruff and shoved at Hana. "Take her."

Hana smiled, fussing over Anna and moving her white hair out of her face, "See I told you we'll come and save you. I'm sorry we're so late." That sounded familiar.

 _So she must be the one who I heard reassuring me when I was stuck here._ Anna thought to herself.

Although Anna didn't feel the intense red aura from Hana like she did from Miikoto, there was something familiar about Hana's warmth. Anna snuggled in more as Hana held her in her arms. Anna could see the faint pink glow surrounding her body.

"Tatara, can you grab my red jacket from my backpack?"

"Sure, Hana-chan." Tatara placed the jacket on top of Anna, like a blanket.

(Line break)

* * *

From the large hole Mikoto made, Senkouki jumped down and stood in front of Mizuchi. The other two Strains were still busy fighting with Misaki and the Usagi.

"I understand, Red King. You have great power, but because of its immensity, you cannot use it without limit when someone you cannot harm is in the same place." Mizuchi laughed at Mikoto. "In addition, you're really bad at dealing with it. The same as the previous red king… you're a clumsy man."

Mikoto smiled fearlessly. It was a dreadful, but pleased smile.

Tatara looked up at him with his own wry smile. I could barely contain my laughter, because I didn't want to shake Anna who was getting comfortable in my arms.

Mikoto spoke without even looking sideways at Tatara. "Stop me."

"Gotcha." Tatara replied with a fitting casualness to that request, which was said in the tone of someone asking to be woken up in half an hour before taking a nap.

Mikoto took a step forward. At his feet, sparks scattered. From his body, red light flowed out like rising steam. His eyes took on a tinge of redness, and white canines peeked out of his grin. "I'll burn you all up, down to every last drop of blood, bone, and ash."

The building shuddered with a thud as light containing red heat spilled out of Mikoto's body like the sun.

At this point, Mikoto's aura would normally incinerate everything around him, except for Tatara who has his power and Hana, due to her powers. In particular, he seemed to have forgotten about Hana not being a part of their clan. His sanctum was on the same frequency as hers, and he could feel that his power wouldn't reject hers as foreign. That somehow, she was a part of his clan, or had the ability to be. His fire, what others see as his fire of destruction, is actually a fire of providence. It wouldn't harm Tatara, Hana, or Anna.

As he fought with Senkouki, he would inflict heavy injuries on him. Singing his skin, burning off part of his body, etc. But Mikoto frowned. There was a gold aura surrounding Senkouki, and whenever he was injured, his body would return back to its physical peak, as if there was no battle being fought.

"The 'talent' I had drawn out by the Gold King is healing and regeneration." Mizuchi announced in a low voice, sensing Mikoto's frustration. He then turned his eyes onto Senkouki as though viewing a thing. "But don't rely on me too much. Avoid unnecessary damage to your body."

The battle continued on and I watched as Mizuchi began to tire. Before long, he was completely soaked in sweat and shaking as he continuously recovered Senkouki's body. He was breathing harshly, his eyes were sunken, his hair was in disarray, and he seemed to have aged a decade or so. The golden light he let off would sometimes flicker like a dying lightbulb.

Suddenly, he stared at Anna as though he still wouldn't let go of clinging to her despite the situation. "Kushina! Don't betray me! You will become king. I will become your first vassal! I will serve you, support you, lead you, and eventually force you up into the Gold King's position as manager of the Slate!"

Anna looked back at Mizuchi silently. At his pitiful form.

"Weren't you prepared to become King for Honami Kushina's sake?!"

When Mizuchi said Honami's name, Hana's arms, which had been holding Anna protectively, tightened. Tatara reached over and placed a warm hand on Anna's hand.

"Don't waver, okay?" Tatara said that to her in a soft voice that didn't suit the situation. Anna nodded her head a bit.

"Okay."

Leaning up against Hana, Anna could feel her tenderness and kindness. With Tatara's hand on her head, Tatara's feelings of calm radiated from him to her. With their feelings, Anna's heart was also able to steady itself.

Mikoto and Senkouki continued to fight, their forms looking as if they were dancing. Eventually, Mikoto dealt the final blow to the Strain.

To Mikoto, the flow inside him that had been held by a chain kept escaping as he had let his bonds loosen. It felt nice to let it go. It was his freedom. The red light wrapped around Mikoto's body and changed it into a flame with physical power. The floor was becoming like a red sea, filled with Mikoto's fire. It kept going and going and going, even when he defeated his opponent.

The walls turned to ash in response to the ridiculous heat, the metal door began to melt, and the ceiling burned and fell. Mizuchi stared at Mikoto with a twisted expression and shouted, "Are you going to destroy everything, Red King? You'll destroy yourself!"

Destruction.

Mikoto smiled faintly. What a beautiful concept.

Right then, something cool was pressed against the center of his back.

"King."

It was Tatara's palm. Even within this situation, he called Mikoto's title with a serene voice.

Maybe Tatara's hand was cold, or perhaps Mikoto's body had heated up too much, or perhaps it was both. Thanks to that hand's feeling and temperature, a calm came upon the crazed power within his body.

 **Lmk if there are any spelling or grammar mistakes. I proofread this on my own, I don't have a beta, so I'll probably make a few mistakes. And there are only so many times a writer can read his/her story until it gets annoying. Also again, this is all based on the spinoff K:Side: Red. Not my work, not claiming for it to be, just me writing Hana and her actions into the situation.**

 **S/O to _vanessaforeverflower_ and _kitkatalvarez_ for the follow/favorite! **


	5. Flames

Chapter 5: Flames

 **Disclaimer: More scenes from K: Side: Red. This helps put into perspective Tatara's role in HOMRA. I do not own K Project or any of the mangas/spin off stories.**

October 18, 2009

From Tatara's perspective:

Tatara was charmed by the color of Mikoto's flame.

He knows that he's the stopper. It's his role as the only one who has almost no combat ability within HOMRA. However, sometimes, there were moments when he thought it would be bliss to just stand and watch that back go forth, without holding it back.

Tatara smiled bitterly for a bit. Then he looked down at Anna who was being carried in Hana's arms. Her eyes were wide and she was looking around at the fiery floor. The light of the flames danced on her white skin. Her large eyes reflected that fiery shine and sparkled. She seemed to be fascinated by the flow of power from Mikoto.

Anna let out a small sigh, "It's pretty."

"Yeah." Tatara responded.

"...but." Even Anna noticed that Mikoto was losing control of his flames.

"I know." Tatara smiled. Hana watched their exchange and placed Anna gently on her feet.

"Stay close." Tatara gave a look to Hana. Hana nodded and looked down at Anna.

Hana held her hand open, and Anna looked up at Tatara, then Hana. Then, she reached out her hand and grasped Hana's much larger one.

Hana and Anna followed Tatara as he approached Mikoto from behind.

It was so hot that if a defenseless civilian had been here, they would have died with their blood boiling within an instant, but Tatara walked right through it. Right as the waves of heat were about to touch him, they lost their danger and became a soft warm breeze. As he approached Mikoto's back, he directed his consciousness towards the small ember within himself. His sanctum was small, and it was weak. But it was a flame he had received from Mikoto.

If the rest of HOMRA held bonfires within their bodies, then the flame held by Tatara was but the light of a candle. Tatara wouldn't be able to become drunk on power.

Even though Tatara wouldn't be able to control Mikoto's flame, he was able to reach him.

"King." Tatara called out as he placed a hand on the center of Mikoto's back.

At the same time, the waves of heat that flowed from Mikoto's body quieted, and then they vanished. Mikoto easily held back the dangerous flame that seemed like it would destroy them all.

(Line Break)

* * *

Hana's POV

I watched in wonder as Tatara was able to calm Mikoto's flames. Just from that glimpse, I realized that Mikoto was in more danger than I thought if I didn't do something about it soon. But how would I go about healing his sanctum? I know that I'm not affected by the flames and intense heat, but I don't want to do more harm than good.

Tatara is able to get Mikoto to reel back his power and place a lid on it. But the power from Dresden isn't something you can just place in a container and not worry about the consequences. The pressure will shatter the container from the inside out. And in this situation, Mikoto's body is the container.

This sort of power.

I wished that the Silver King and Gold King had left it lying dormant all those years ago, never to be discovered by humanity.

I guess that's the situation in my world too. In fact, maybe this world has it right. The Sword of Damocles. A testament to the idea that those with power need to be held in check or else they're likely to abuse it. A constant sword hanging over the wielder's head, an imminent and ever-present peril faced by those in positions of power.

Even in my world, we still have our fair share of violence and cruelty. But these people who abuse and abuse and abuse their power get away with it.

 _Let's not get into a philosophical debate when my life's a mess. I don't even know how I will go about telling the Red Clan the truth about myself._

I felt a squeeze on my hand. Anna looked at me innocently. She must've felt my inner turmoil. I let a smile grace my face and I lightly squeezed her hand back.

I turned and faced forward, becoming serious. _I can't daydream now. Let's handle these things as life throws it at me._

As I was distracted, it seemed like Mizuchi attempted to get Senkouki to finish Mikoto off, it seemed like Mizuchi thought Mikoto ran out of power. _Idiot._ But Senkouki knew the truth. That he wouldn't be able to defeat Mikoto, even when Mikoto reeled back his powers. Instead he had tried to kill himself. Mikoto, understanding Senkouki's self-determined fate, placed his fist against Senkouki's heart and left no blood, bones, or ashes.

As Mizuchi yelled nonsense at Mikoto, Mikoto walked towards him, most likely planning to leave nothing behind of the pathetic human. But at that moment, Mizuchi's body floated into the air.

A dozen of the Gold Clan's Usagis had appeared. _I guess our Usagi that was fighting the Strain realized more manpower was needed and called for backup._

"Seems like they came for the cleanup." A familiar voice came from above.

We looked up. Izumo, who had probably been behind the Usagis, stood at the edge of the hole and looked down.

"Yo, good work." Izumo waved one hand at Mikoto from where he stood. It seemed like his shoulder and arm was injured, but had a bandage around it.

Mikoto frowned at the bandage, "What's with that look?"

"... ya don't need to point that out first thing in a situation like this. Leave me be. It's actually pretty embarassin'." Izumo looked at Mizuchi and smiled wryly. "The chief layin' over there is done for. Ya don't need to deal with him anymore. Let the Usagis have him."

Mikoto didn't reply, but he didn't try to stop the moving Usagis. They surrounded Mizuchi as Izumo jumped down. Totsuka ran over to him and I followed a few steps behind, holding Anna's hand.

The danger passed and I loosened up my hand, but Anna shook her head and refused to let go.

"You okay? You hardly ever get hurt like this. What happened, seriously?" Tatara prodded for information.

"... like I said. Don't ask…" Izumo looked awkward, then suddenly glared at both Tatara and Mikoto. "More importantly, I told ya guys not to go overboard, right? What's this?"

The building was full of huge fissures and was beginning to fall apart as it burned. Even now, small fragments were falling from above, and unpleasant noises indicating destruction could be heard. Tatara smiled as if to change the subject.

"Aahaha… looks like we're gonna get buried alive if we don't get out quickly."

"Jeez… the Strains above ground have already run away. Those two weirdo Strains, Grasshopper and Pyrote-whatever are in the Gold Clan's custody. Right now, SCEPTER 4's leader is sending out evacuation orders to workers and blues still inside. Everyone else is waiting for us above. Oh and, Hana, the Gold King said he wants to talk to you soon." Kusanagi's expression as he said this was complicated.

"Hai." I turned and called out to a nearby Usagi. "Usagi-sama, it's been a long day. I'll stop by the Timeless Palace tomorrow, please tell Kokujoji-sama that I'll visit then." The Usagi nodded and continued with his job.

"Let's get on out too." Kusanagi said while looking down at Anna who was holding Hana's hand. "You're with us, right?"

Kusanagi spoke to Anna as though treating her as an equal, not a child. She nodded.

"What about you, Hana?"

I looked up at Kusanagi, and said, "I still owe you guys an explanation. I see my promises through to the end."

I tried to pull the hand connected with Anna away again, but she was still reluctant to let go. I kneeled down and told her, "Everything is going to be just fine. Here, Pepper will help you feel better. She's my friend, she can be your friend too right?" Anna nodded shyly as Pepper slowly came out of her hiding place on my shoulders and walked towards Anna. Anna reached her hand out to Pepper, who sniffed it once, then jumped onto Anna's shoulder.

Anna let out a small giggle in surprise. We all looked shell-shocked since it was our first time hearing Anna laugh. Even the boys, who had spent some time with Anna when she came to visit with Honami, hadn't heard her laugh. She was like a doll back then, but now… Now she's opening up again.

Pepper settled down around Anna's neck, her face nuzzling Anna's. _I smiled to myself. It seems like they're going to get along really well. Animals always make everything better._

For a few seconds, Anna looked up at Mikoto in an unsure way… then she gently took his sleeve.

(Line Break)

* * *

Honestly, everything after that was a bit of a blur. We made it back to HOMRA and the boys decided to have a party to celebrate saving Anna.

"Ma ma guys, before we get started, I think Hana-chan has something she wants to tell all of us." Tatara said with a gentle and welcoming smile. "But! Before that, you girls should go ahead and take a shower. We don't want Anna-chan becoming sick. Also, Hana-chan, it's bad to go around covered in soot."

 _Eh? I looked at my arms. Oh yeah, there's a lot of dust on my jacket. Might as well as change into new clothes._ "Arigato Tatara-san."

"Follow me, I'll show you the shower." Anna grabbed my hand as we followed Izumo up the stairs.

"Ah, arigato Kusanagi-san."

"Arigato." Anna copied my response.

As we walked up the stairs that was behind the bar, Anna placed her red marble up to her left eye and looked around. Izumo gave us a mini tour of the upstairs.

"The first door you see as you come up the stairs is Mikoto's room." I could see Anna's eyes sparkling, her curiosity shining through.

"Anna, we can't walk into someone's room when he's not there."

"So we can walk in when he's there." Anna smiled confidently.

"Ah, that's not the poi-, nevermind." I shook my head.

We had passed by two empty rooms, apparently Mikoto was the only one who lived on the second floor. Izumo, who I thought would live in his bar, had an apartment a few blocks down. Even Tatara, who spent most of his time at the bar, didn't live there.

"Okay, here we are. This is the shower. Here are two towels. You can throw your clothes into the washing machine there." Izumo handed me the towels and I thanked him again.

It was a normal Japanese shower. There was a room with a sink and a washing machine which opened up into a room which was completely waterproof. There was a bathtub in one corner and the washing area, with a shower head, which is outside of the bathtub.

I locked the door and helped Anna out of her flowy blue dress. Pepper, who I almost forgot Anna had, jumped off of Anna's shoulder and shook herself in the sink.

"Guess you need a shower too, don't you girl?"

Pepper looked up at I cooed to her and licked her paw.

Looking back down at the blue dress, the color annoyed me because it reminded me of what that bastard Mizuchi wanted to do to her. I took the red marbles in her dress pockets out and placed them on a nearby shelf, next to the towels.

As a swimmer, I wasn't shy about undressing in front of other females because in the women's locker room, everyone undresses in front of each other. No one really cares.

As Anna sat down on the small stool in the shower, I noticed a few cuts on her arms. It must've been from the glass, when Mikoto destroyed the container those bastards had put her in. Nope, I'm not gonna grace them with a name, they're "those bastards" to me in my head.

"May I?" I asked Anna calmly, allowing my aura to flow and gather in my hands. "I won't hurt you, they do resemble Mizuchi's powers, but I promise I won't ever hurt you."

"Un." Anna nodded, holding out her injured arms. It seemed like she wholeheartedly trusted me.

I slowly placed my hands on her arm and before our eyes her cuts started healing up. When they finished, Anna poked at her arms.

"It's different from Mizuchi's aura. Yours is warm, and such a pretty pink." Pink is technically a shade of red, no wonder Anna was okay with it. Maybe it reminds her of Mikoto a bit.

I twisted the water knob and made sure the water was warm before I handed Anna the shower head so she could wash herself. Anna helped spray Pepper down and we rubbed a bit of soap into her fur to wash out any soot that had accumulated.

I helped Anna place shampoo and conditioner in her hair before I also washed my pink hair. As I helped bathe Anna, we chatted a bit.

"Anna."

"It's okay Hana, I know."

"You know?"

"Yeah, I can tell that you're not from around here. But it's okay, you don't mean to harm any of us. Mikoto trusts you too."

My eyes began to mist over and I gave her a hug. "Thanks Anna. But I wanted to let you know that there are going to be moments when you want to look for me. But you can't. Don't tell the boys my location, even if you want to. I'm going to have to go off and get some things taken care of okay? But I promise I'll stop by every so often."

"Pinky promise?"

"Pinky promise." We intertwined our pinky fingers. After soaking in the bathtub for five minutes (it's a Japanese thing), we walked out and I toweled her down. After drying myself I used my towel to dry Pepper off too.

Our clothes still weren't done so I grabbed some spare clothing out of my backpack. What? My backpack has a lot of necessities okay. You never know when you need a change of clothes. I had thrown out my textbooks a while ago, who needs gen chem at this point? But I kept some of the medical journals that I had picked up at school in my backpack because I had a feeling they were going to come in handy sometime soon. When I was at the Family Mart, along with some food, I had also grabbed some generic clothing.

They were way too big for Anna, but at least she was covered up and warm. We were definitely going to need to go shopping the next day. For her and myself.

(Line Break)

* * *

We walked down the stairs together, with Pepper on my shoulders this time. It seemed like the boys had already begun drinking a bit as we heard loud laughter fill the bar.

When we made it down to the first floor, Anna ran over to Mikoto and sat next to him on the couch he had sunk into. A glass of… whiskey, maybe?... in his hand.

I took a seat on the red bar stool.

"And for you mademoiselle?" Izumo practiced his French.

" _Ah, just water please. I don't drink."_ I replied in English. If he was going to try out his languages, I'll show him what I have too.

Surprise crossed his face, "So you speak English, huh?"

"It's my native language, I'm from America."

"You don't look American."

"I'm not native, I'm Japanese but raised in America."

"It did seem as if ya had a slight accent that I couldn't place. Your Japanese is really good." Izumo slid a glass of water with iceberg-like ice cubes towards me.

I caught it in one hand. "Hm. Speaking of which. Time for some story-telling guys." I called out to the bar.

My voice commanded the room and everyone quieted down, turning towards me.

I took a deep breath. "I'm from the future. But not your future."

 **A/N: Ah, so I just realized, after re-reading K: Memory of Red for the fifth time that Shohei joined later. Ah well…. It's okay. He helped save Anna.**


	6. Providence

**Disclaimer: I do not own K Project or a few of the scenes with Honami, the translated English versions of K Side:Red are from "readlightnovel". I do not own any of the characters except for Hana.**

 **Chapter 6: Providence**

 **October 18, 2009**

Everyone was silent. Even Mikoto opened his eyes.

"Wow! That's so incredible Hana-chan!" Tatara, ever the calm one, exclaimed.

I stared at him in disbelief. "Wait you guys believe me?"

A chuckle ran through the bar.

"We saw what ya could do when you helped save Anna. We were just waitin' for you to tell us the truth. It is hard to believe, but as long as you're not here to hurt any of us, you're always welcome." Izumo spoke for the rest of the gang.

"So Hana-chan, you're from another dimension? World? Universe? How does it work? Do you know the future?" Shohei piped in.

"Okay woah. Too many questions. All I can say is I'm not quite sure. In my universe, we don't have talking trash cans that pick up trash, PDAs that have holograms, or Clans. All of this stuff is super high tech, and we're not quite there yet. So I'm from your future in a different way. I know some of what has happened because of a different type of recorded history." To me these people are real, they're flesh and blood. They aren't fictional. I frowned. "You see, I don't exist here. I'm not supposed to be here."  
Close enough to the truth, I can't tell them I know them from an anime. UGH THIS IS HARDER THAN I THOUGHT IT WAS GOING TO BE. Everyone waited for me to continue. Not even the hotheaded Misaki said anything.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, almost wishing that if I opened them back up I would be home. Opening them again, I looked at the people before me.

"That's why I said that things are complicated. I was sent here, to this universe. I have a vague notion of what is going to happen in the future, but nothing is set in concrete. I have these powers possibly from the Slate. It's how I became friends with Pepper." I gestured towards Izumo. "Kusanagi-san do you mind if I heal your arm? Don't worry, I won't harm you and my powers aren't like Mizuchi's."

 **(A/N: If you forgot who Mizuchi is, he's the evil dude who wanted to turn Anna into the next Blue King.)**

Only Tatara, Mikoto, and Anna really understood the reference.

Izumo walked around his bar and stood to my side. "Do you mind taking off your shirt?"

"If ya wanted to get my shirt off so badly, all ya had to do was ask." Izumo said with his Kansai accent as he buttoned down his shirt. I shot Izumo a glare.

"Oi! Why does he need to take his shirt off!" Misaki yelled out, flustered a bit that a girl was going to see a guy topless.

"Misaki, I was training to be a medical professional before I arrived here. Also I'm a swimmer and a lifeguard, a shirtless guy is nothing."

"Don't call me by my first name!" Misaki pouted.

"I'm American, I always call people by their first name."

"Then why do you call Kusanagi-san by his last name?!"

I shrugged my shoulders, "because I feel like it."

I twisted and placed my arm on his bare shoulder. I gathered my pink aura to my hands and concentrated on healing. Just because I was focusing on healing Izumo, didn't mean I was blind.

 _Hawt damn._ I didn't let my eyes wander, but I'd be stupid not to notice the muscles on Izumo. He wasn't overly muscular as if he bench pressed every day, he was on the skinny side, yet there was definitely a solid amount of muscle in just the right places from what I could see. _He would definitely be a butterflyer* if he swam. His muscle structure is on par with some of the faster swimmers that I know._

Everyone watched as the wounds on Izumo's shoulder stitched up before their eyes. When I finished, Izumo flexed his arm, moving it around.

"It's completely healed. You think ya can heal my bar when the boys are gettin' too rowdy?" Izumo's eyes sparkled at the idea.

Chuckles and noises of indignation (probably from Misaki) filtered through the room. "Well, I just found out I can sort of reverse the time flow of certain inanimate objects? So maybe?"

"She's a keeper." Izumo winked. I rolled my eyes.

Everyone laughed. I felt so at ease with everyone, but I was still hesitant about whether or not I would be seen as just me. As just Hana to them, not some weird, interdimensional girl with pink hair.

"So you're a strain?" Shohei interjected.

"Nope."

"Do you belong to a clan?"

"Wrong again. I'm not a strain and neither do I belong to one clan. There's the Silver, Gold, Red, Blue, Green, Grey, and Colorless Clans. As you can tell, my aura doesn't belong to any one clan. I'm not quite sure what I am." I twisted my pink hair between my thumb and forefinger.

"You're our friend." Anna's quiet voice was soft, yet clear. She held her marbles tightly in her hand.

"She should join HOMRA!" Tatara exclaimed as if he had an epiphany.

"I would love to… but there's a few things I have to do first." Hana's eyes seemed to fog over, as if she was looking at something in the distance.

(Line Break)

* * *

 **3rd Person POV**

Mikoto took a drag of his cigarette, breathing the smoke out before he spoke. "If she can handle the heat, then it's fine." He took another puff. "It's up to you punk. There's something you have to do, huh." It was more of a casual statement than a question, as his half lidded eyes locked onto Hana's. Honestly, it seemed like all the lion wanted to do was retreat back to his den.

"Do what you want, I'm going to sleep."

Mikoto stood up from the couch. As he did so, the entire room snapped to attention and chorused, "Good night King!" as they bowed.

Some of the boys began to head towards the doors as they realized that the day's over and Hana had said all she wanted to say.

Anna, who had been sitting next to Mikoto with a hand on the hem of his shirt, stood up with him. It was as if she was going to follow him to his room. But her eyes glanced back to Hana's form, and worry filled her.

Mikoto noticed Anna's hesitation. "Do what you want kid."

Anna looked up at Mikoto. "Goodnight." Anna wished to the one with the prettiest red.

Mikoto gave a half wave that was punctuated by a yawn as he made his journey up the stairs.

When Anna wrapped her arms around Hana's, it brought Hana out of her thoughts.

"So, guess we'll be seeing you around more often then." Izumo's hands massaged his forehead. It wasn't unusual for them to pick up strays, that's the story behind most of the current HOMRA members, even Tatara.

Well, _especially_ Tatara. He was the first stray they took in.

"Alright everyone, out!" Izumo cleared out the lingering HOMRA members from the bar area.

Everyone said their goodbyes to Anna and Hana as they cleared the room. They all have apartments nearby.

"You guys can take one of the empty rooms next to Mikoto's. I'll be back in the afternoon, I have some things to take care of." Izumo wiped the bar down and explained where he kept the keys as he locked up.

"You trust me?" This entire situation seemed so weird. Why would they trust Hana, a stranger, so quickly? They accepted her explanations even though any other normal person would have called her crazy and chucked her out of their home.

"Anna trusts you and so does King. We do too. We know you're a good person, you don't need to tell us for us to know." Izumo explained.

Confusion still clouded Hana's face.

"We've seen what you've done, and for some reason I know that you're telling the truth." Izumo then ushered them up the stairs and told them to get some sleep.

It's been a long day.

* * *

 **Next day, October 19, 2009**

 **Hana's POV**

Light filtered in through the windows as I opened my eyes, making sure to not make too many noises as I didn't want to wake up the sleeping form next to me. I recalled what happened last night. After I was offered a spot in HOMRA, Anna and I took one of the empty rooms in Izumo's bar. At first, we were going to have separate rooms, but when I saw the look on Anna's face, I immediately decided against having her be alone.

It's not like I'm going to stay here long, right?

Anna had been through so much, so I wasn't surprised that she fell asleep almost instantaneously when we got settled in bed. Pepper had gone off in the night, presumably to go hunting or have some free time to herself. I don't own her, she's the one who chose to stay near, so I don't control her actions. Neither do I see her as a pet.

I see Pepper as an equal, a friend, a being that is just as intelligent as a human and who should be treated with respect.

According to my phone, it's 9 in the morning. I guess I'll make breakfast.

I brushed my teeth with a toothbrush Izumo gave me and crept downstairs to use the kitchen.

 _Sorry Izumo, I'm going to be borrowing your kitchen._ I gave a silent prayed that he wouldn't murder me for touching his kitchen.

 ***45 Minutes Later***

As I'm placing the food down on the table, there's enough to feed a medium-sized family, I hear Anna walking down the stairs.

"Ohayo, Anna."

"Ohayo." She rubs her eyes sleepily.

I let her know that I'm going to wake Mikoto up as she clambers onto a bar stool. He's gotta eat breakfast sooner or later. Better warm than cold.

I walk back up the stairs and knock on the first door. He doesn't answer the second or the third knock either.

"I'm coming in Mikoto!" I say as I push open the door.

Mikoto's room is dark and I find him lying on his back, sleeping soundly. The door is left open as I make my way into the room.

I reach for his shoulder to shake his shoulder, "Miko-"

My voice cuts off as his hand darts out and grabs my wrist. It's not painful, but it is a pretty solid grip.

"Oh, it's just you." He lets go and lays his arm on his forehead, as if by blocking me out of sight I'm going to disappear and he can go back to sleep.

Ha. I have two brothers, I know all of the tricks these boys throw at me. I crouch down by the bed and encourage him to get up again, he's been sleeping longer than Anna and I! "Come on Mikoto, I made some breakfast."

No response.

Okay. Fine. Wanna play it that way? "Hm, guess me and Anna will just finish off all the toast and eggs. There'll be none left when we're done with it."

I expected him to bolt right up, as my brothers would have done. But instead, he groaned and shifted his weight so he was now lying on his right side, facing away from me.

How stubborn. Okay, plan C.

I walk out of the room and down the stairs. When I enter the kitchen, Anna looks at me expectantly because she had been waiting for Mikoto before we begin breakfast. I shake my head to her unvoiced question.

Disappointment appears on her face, so I place a gently hand on her head and ask, "Why don't you try waking him up? If you say please I'm sure he'll join us for breakfast."

 ***Two minutes later***

"Do you want coffee or tea?" I ask a disgruntled Mikoto. I laugh evilly in my head since I'm sure this is the earliest he's ever gotten up since his middle school days.

Plan C stood for plan "Cute." No one can resist Anna's puppy dog eyes.

Anna's munching on French toast, already sipping on orange juice.

"Hn."

"Okay coffee it is." I poured him a cup of black coffee and then served myself some. I added a lot of milk and sugar to mine.

We eat breakfast in a comfortable silence. I gaze out the windows, watching people pass by the bar. The heterochromatic glass in the Homra bar makes it seem like we're in an entirely different world from the outside.

As we finish up breakfast, Mikoto dumps his utensils and plate in the sink. Watching him, Anna does the same.

"I'm going back to sleep. Thanks for the meal." Mikoto mutters.

"Wait, Anna and I are going shopping. Since she's going to be staying with you guys, she needs clothes and other necessities." Mikoto pauses.

Anna tugs on my shirt. "Shopping?" I could see the sparkle in her eyes.

"Yes Anna, you can buy and wear whatever you want. Do you wanna get ready while I finish off washing the dishes?"

Anna agrees and runs upstairs to get herself ready for a day out.

"Fine. Wait for me." Guess Mikoto is coming along with us. Which is better, since it's supposed to be the gang and him shopping with Anna in the K: Side Red light novel.

From what it seemed like, it's just going to be Mikoto and I since the boys aren't at the bar yet.

I contemplate all of these little nuances. Did I change the plot? What is going to happen from here on out due to my presence? I watch his back as he goes up the stairs, his 21 year old self does not yet have the broad, muscular back that I remember from the K project series. He's still toned though, don't get me wrong. But he did not yet adopt his signature look.

There was no star pendant around his neck nor a chain hanging from the hip of his jeans. He was still into his white t-shirts, but there was no black fur-lined puffy jacket that he was often pictured with in the anime or manga.

There's still three more years left until the start of the anime series.

Until Tatara's death.

I sighed as I finished washing up the dishes. So many things will happen. The good, the bad, and the ugly. I guess I'm just along for the ride.

After cleaning the kitchen to perfection to avoid incurring Izumo's wrath, I write them a quick note letting them know we're heading out to get some shopping done.

* * *

"Head on into any store and pick the one you like, okay?" I said from Anna's side.

It was a street with various clothing stores, but Anna just walked by them all while looking troubled at them from outside.

"I guess it might just make it harder to choose if you say anything's fine." Tatara's voice joined the conversation.

"Woah, Tatara! When did you get here?"

"Hey Hana-chan, hey King. I just saw you guys passing by and decided to join you." Tatara's face had an easy smile on it. "So Anna-chan, is there any outfit you particularly like?"

I contemplated. "I think she looks good in a frilly dress."

"But that's Mizuchi's taste, isn't it."

"Tch. I forgot, yeah I guess it was." It was so hard to hold back from referring to him as a bastard. But Anna's still young and I'm going to refrain from cursing.

As Tatara and Hanna talked and looked around at the stores, with Mikoto trailing along, Anna looked up at them and spoke, "I liked the shape of those clothes... Honami also said they were cute."

"Hurry up and choose." Mikoto glanced back at Anna. He sounded bored already, even though they hadn't entered a single store yet. Anna didn't look scared at all by his bad mood, and if anything she seemed to calm down a little and slowly looked around the area. Suddenly, her eyes stopped on a certain shop's window.

Anna had chosen a deep red outfit with lots of lace. The sleeves were flared, and so was the skirt that went down just a bit past her knees. Placed on the side of her hair was a little red hat. It was tied down on the opposite side by a red ribbon. Her shoes were also red with shiny enamel.

Wearing that, Anna looked down at herself and turned around trying to twist around and see herself from behind as well. As usual, it was difficult to read her expression and tell whether she was excited about her new clothes or confused by them.

* * *

 **3rd Person POV**

All 4 of them left the Shopping Center and headed towards Honami's apartment.

Mikoto wanted to check up on her since they hadn't heard from her since Hana had mentioned her. It also seemed like Hana didn't quite know if Honami knew about Anna being back or not.

Anna didn't say a word. When they arrived at Honami's apartment, she also didn't speak as they went up the stairs, and simply held onto Mikoto's clothes as she moved her legs. Anna had confirmed Honami's safety through her red marble using her power. In which case, it meant she should be safe.

Mikoto rang the doorbell. There was an immediate response. After the sound of someone rushing through the apartment, the door opened.

"Oh my, Suou-kun." Honami's face warmly greeted her former student.

Mikoto and Hana frowned questioningly at how normal her smile was. She didn't seem concerned at all with Anna being at the Hospital as she had been when she talked with Hana. It also seemed like she didn't remember Hana. Which is weird, since they had only spoken about two days ago. With so many things happening that seemed like so long ago.

Suddenly, Honami's eyes landed on Anna, who was beside Mikoto. However, she didn't act glad at Anna's safety, and merely tilted her head in confusion.

"... Is this Suou-kun's little sister?"

So that's how it is.

Mikoto controlled his bitter feelings in silence. He had considered the possibility of Honami's memories being sealed by the Usagis. This way, she would not interfere in the Clans anymore than she should.

While his feelings on that were complicated, he did think it was for the best.

However.

Mikoto looked down at Anna. She showed no signs of being moved, and stared up at Honami. While searching for Honami with her powers, Anna had likely learned of her condition. She had already known that her presence in Honami's heart had been painted over, and she had accepted it.

 _You oughta cry._ Mikoto thought as he looked at Anna's doll-like expression. Even if crying and begging Honami to remember her wouldn't break the Usagi's spell, it would certainly move Honami's heart. Even if Anna right now was a complete stranger, if she cried and wanted Honami to take her back, then Honami would probably try to accept her. That's the sort of person she is.

Totsuka and Hana hung back, but Hana had placed a palm over her heart and made a fist, as if in pain. She quietly watched the situation go on.

But Anna didn't shed a single tear.

"It's okay." She said that in a clear voice to Mikoto, while looking at Honami. It seemed as though she had seen right through Mikoto's heart.

Honami spoke in a confused voice, "... Suou-kun.. is something... wrong?"

He looked at her and frowned, "... what's wrong with you?"

Honami was crying.

Her eyes were open wide, and shedding tear after tear. She looked confused as she caught her falling tears in her hands. She stared at them in confusion as Mikoto could only watch.

Suddenly, Anna moved and her small hand took Honami's. As thought trying to comfort Honami, Anna held Honami's pale hands tightly, and slowly her expression changed.

Letting go of her doll-like expression, she loosened her tight face. It turned into a smile, a smile that even Mikoto would have to laugh at as awkward.

With that awkward smile, she spoke kindly to Honami, "Don't cry. It's okay."

Honami blinked. "You're..." Honami looked at Anna in a way that was confused, pained, and fretful all at once. Mikoto saw that and let out a long sigh.

"I'm sorry I was a bad student until the end." He said while roughly wiping her tear-streaked cheek on his palm.

"What are you saying?"

"...no." He laughed a little bitterly, "It's nothing."

He turned away and didn't turn around again even after she called his name in confusion.

They left the apartment and headed towards the park across from it. It was a shortcut to the HOMRA bar.

Before they entered the park, Hana spoke up, "I'm going to see the Gold King. I was the one who told him about Mizuchi so I need to take responsibility."

"Be back for dinner Hana!" Tatara reminded her that she was still welcome in HOMRA.

"See you guys in a bit." Hana hugged Tatara and Anna, then gave a nod to Mikoto.

 **(Hana's meeting with the Gold King will be in the next chapter, but for now we follow the others).**

Tatara, Anna, and Mikoto continued on their way to HOMRA. As they passed the park's entrance, Anna abruptly stopped behind him.

"Mikoto." Anna called him quietly, and held out her hands to him as though asking for something. "I want Mikoto's red."

Mikoto shifted slightly at those straightforward words. Anna was both an immature and dangerous Strain. As Mizuchi had been obsessed with her, she also held an ability that would make her easily targeted by others. Going by how the Usagis had erased her from Honami's memory, it likely meant that they no longer thought it was safe to leave her with civilians.

However, the red clan wouldn't allow her to be taken by the gold clan. In other words, the gold clan was compromising by allowing the red clan to keep Anna.

It could also be seen as the red clan being told to take responsibility for storming the hospital and rescuing her. However, even now, Mikoto was still unsure.

 _Am I scared? Of being entrusted with one brat's life._

This was the heaviness he felt as he increased his comrades, his clansmen. Sometimes, Mikoto would feel a discomfort he could do nothing about as he was entrusted with people's live and feelings as King.

"I don't plan on throwing you out... but I can't guarantee anything either." _There is no way to predict if the aura will accept her or not._

"That's fine." Anna replied immediately to the warning. "I'm going to follow Mikoto because that's what I want to do. Mikoto doesn't have to promise anything."

Her clear, burgundy eyes didn't waver.

Mikoto slowly held one hand out to her. In front of her, his hand was surrounded in red flame. "Can you take this hand?"

Anna didn't hesitate even a moment. She grabbed his hand with both of hers, and treating it as if it were a precious treasure, she hugged it to her chest. The fire spread from Mikoto's hand to her whole body. It was a flame of providence, which would never burn her.

The HOMRA insignia appeared within Anna's left eye.

 **A/N:**

 ***Butterly is a swimming stroke. For swimmers, sometimes we can tell the type of swimming stroke a person is good at based on their physique. Izumo Kusanagi sort of resembles Michael Phelps, a famous butterflyer. They are around the same height, but Izumo's arms and legs aren't as toned as Michael's.**

 **S/O to** _ **UnderwaterNymph, xXFallenSakuraXx52, alice-chan8, yukiki1, LunaSoraYamiMoonlightCrystal, Kikikitsune18, joeykun938, Random2Friends, BlackMoonWhiteSky, AliceRuiLin, KotoriZ, fairytailbunchan,**_ **and Willow310,** _ **PrisD**_ **for the favorite/follow!**

 **Also, big thanks for the reviews** _ **xFluffyx and pixiewinx.**_


	7. Heart of Gold

**A/N: I don't have a beta so there might be a few mistakes in this chapter. If there are any glaring errors, please let me know!**

 **Chapter 7: Heart of Gold**

 **October 19, 2009**

 **Daikaku Kokujōji (Gold King) POV**

 **Location: Imperial Palace**

"Sir, we have Ms. Hana Kugawa waiting in the lobby for you." One of the Usagis (Gold Clansmen) reported to me.

Papers were scattered around the mahogany desk I was sitting at.

"Let her in." I order with an unreadable expression. There is still time to decide if she is an enemy or someone who can benefit the country.

I watch carefully as an Usagi opens the door for a young lady with light pink hair. Although she is by no means tall, possibly around 5 feet 4 inches, her posture and demeanor makes it seem as if she is taller than she looks. Quite young, this girl. Most likely somewhere between eighteen years old and twenty.

She bows and proceeds to walk into the room. How funny. It appears as if she has a black and white spotted ferret lazing around her shoulders. She's wearing a peacoat over a simple floral A line dress.

"My name is Hana. This is my friend Pepper. You had asked for a meeting to discuss the text message I sent you." Her eyes darted around the room.

"Ah yes. Everyone, you are dismissed." The lingering Usagis and the one who had opened the door for Hana exited the room. "Feel free to speak."

Hana remained silent.

"Not everyone has left the room. But if you are comfortable with them hearing about the person who had sent me, I don't mind them staying. It is Oji-san's decision." Hana's eyes bored holes in the ceiling.

"HAHHAHA." A deep bellowing laughter erupted from me. This is the most amused I have been in a long time. "It takes some skill, young one, to notice them. So tell me, how did you find out?" I leaned forward on my desk, ignoring the fact that she referred to me as her grandpa.

However, Hana's crystal blue eyes stared confidently into my brown ones. "I can sense their auras with my own. Using this power from Dresden that I, one way or the other, inherited by accident." She smiled fondly at the ground, sensing the Slate's power beneath them. The Dresden Slate is kept underneath the Imperial Palace, which is the Gold Clan's home base. Similar to how the HOMRA bar is the home base of the Red Clan.

However, the location is a well-kept secret from civilians, and even most clan members. Only the Kings and their highest-ranking officers know where the Dresden Slate is located.

"..." I thought for a moment, then came to a decision that I should dismiss the five Gold Clansmen who were hiding in the ceiling. I snapped my fingers twice in quick succession. This indicated to the clansmen to also exit the room (or, well, ceiling in their case).

I know where this conversation is going and it is one that only a limited number of people should know about. "You speak of Dresden as if he is a real person."

"Is he not?" An eyebrow of hers arched. "He introduced himself to me as Dresden Rex and told me his physical body is here, in the Kanto Region of Japan. This sort of thing would be hard to believe, but you know him too, don't you."

"...I was not the one who discovered the Slate. But I was one of the few people who knew of its existence. Back then, we didn't know that it held its own consciousness until the Silver King and I met him for the first time. To this day, we thought we were the only Kings who had ever met him in person." That fateful meeting took place when the German city they were in was bombed and the Slate chose its first humans to grant a sanctum to.

"Something bad is going to happen in a few years. The reason I met Dresden Rex was because I was sent here from my world. It's different from this one. It is one that exists without the power of Kings or auras. Even after World War II, Japan is a global influence, but not to the extent that it is in this world." Hana sat down and explained as I joined her in the sitting area.

My body has become old, but my power is still going strong. Even if Hana tried anything dangerous, I would be able to stop her. And if she's met Dresden, she must not be a bad person. I wonder if my granddaughter would have been like Hana if I ever settled down and got married. There were many who came after my power and wealth when I established the Gold Clan in Japan, but none who compared to Klaudia Weismann. Her death is what sparked this all, Adolf retreating to the skies and me focusing my efforts on rebuilding Japan.

In Hana's world, I find it interesting that Japan would still build itself back up even after the defeat it had suffered. I had spent my entire life in the shadows, building Japan back up using the powers that Dresden (and who is often referred to as The Slate), had bestowed upon me. We each have a role in this world, every person who is granted the title of King.

But from what I can tell, this girl isn't linked to the title of King. She's one that can reach and interact with all of the auras.

"How interesting. A friend of Dresden's is a friend of mine. So what are you going to do next?"

Over the next hour and a half, Hana told me about her world and her overall plan to prevent the chain of events that will set off a tragic catastrophe.

* * *

Hana's POV

I sighed. What a meeting. He reminds me of my grandpa a bit. When angered, is straight to the point, but when not, likes to play tricks and games.

We both knew that Dresden Rex was there, but kept silent about it. It seemed to be a test in my opinion. We could sense him take an almost physical form as his power is a lot stronger when we are closer to the Slate.

But Dresdon just observed us as we played shogi in the sitting area.

I want to talk to him again, but since we were both pretending that he wasn't there, I guess I still have a lot of time left to talk to him.

Since the war, the Silver king has looked down from the clouds upon the earth. He has seen people born, fight, and die. He's also ignored the workings of those on the ground, preferring instead of keep his head in the clouds and live out immortality alone.

But Oji-san has worked hard, protected the Slate, taken up the reigns of a true King, and fashioned the world of this universe into a better place. He did that to prove that there are many possibilities available and so much potential in the world.

And yet.

His message didn't get across to the Silver King, the brother of Klaudia Weismann. If she had lived, I wonder if Klaudia and Daikaku would have gotten married. I ship it. They would've been a cute couple. But that was back during WWII, what 1945 right?

I sighed and looked up again to the sky.

Oh Silver King. What are we going to do with you?

* * *

Timeskip: 10PM

I had spent the last few hours roaming around and enjoying Shizume city. When I walked back into HOMRA's bar, I only found Tatatara, Mikoto, Misaki, Rikio, Izumo, and Anna in the bar. There were a few actual customers, but the rest of the gang was missing because it's a Monday evening and the bar was open.

Having an actual gang hanging around during business hours would be terrible for business.

"Welcome back Hana!" Tatatara called as he spotted me walk into the door.

"Hannnnnnnnaaaaaa." I gulped as I slowly turned around to face a creepily smiling Izumo.

"Hi Kusanagi-san." I whispered in my best 'I'm so sorry for using your kitchen, don't kill me voice.' I almost forgot that I had used Izumo's kitchen, but I cleaned up after myself! I even saved leftovers in the fridge AND labeled it for him.

Izumo glomped me. "Come work for me! The bar was SPARKLIN' when I came back this afternoon. And yer food is so good! Where did ya learn to cook?"

One of his arms was hanging off my shoulder. I felt so relieved knowing that I wasn't in trouble like I thought. "Sure, I'd love to! My grandparents taught me how to cook. I need to start working anyways to repay you guys for giving me a place to sleep."

Izumo's face turned serious. "Ya don't need to thank us for that, you're welcome any time. Plus, you saved Anna-chan and givin' you a bed is the least we could do." He went back to the bar to tend to his customers, giving me a wink to show that he's back to normal.

Anna finally noticed me and came running towards me. "You're back."

I gathered her in a hug. I've been gone for not even a half day and I missed her so much. Pepper transferred to Anna's shoulders during this hug. "I missed you." I murmured into her white hair.

"Missed you too." Anna responded, her voice muffled as she spoke into my shoulder.

"Alright! Let's go to the couch, I need to start helping Kusanagi-san with the bar." I picked Anna up bridal-style as she squealed in surprise.

I walked over and plopped her down on the couch, next to Mikoto.

"I could've walked." She pouted.

I messed up her hair with a hand. "It's not fun that way though. When you're tired, head up to bed." I left Pepper with Anna.

Izumo called over some orders and I responded, "Hai hai, I can get those done."

I moved to the kitchen and began cooking the ordered small dishes. It's a bar, not a restaurant so there aren't any heavy menu items.

* * *

About half an hour later, Tatara joined me in the kitchen.

"Can I help?" His soft voice broke through my concentration as I was mixing the ingredients for chicken karaage (Japanese fried chicken).

"I'm actually working on chicken karaage right now, could you please pass me the flour?"

"Sure." Not a moment later, there was a large crashing noise.

Startled, I looked up from the mixture I was working on to find Tatara on the floor with flour spilled in a half circle around him. He had fallen backwards while holding the flour jar, so he was now on his butt with his arms supporting the upper half of his body.

He lay in a dazed heap for a few seconds.

I rush over to help him up and dust him off. My eyes lingered on his for a moment too long. God damn he has beautiful eyes. Many have guarded eyes, ones that don't show emotions. However, his eyes are kind and honest. I could stare into them all day if possible. That's too embarrassing though.

I coughed into my hand and turned my attention to the various utensils and ingredients on the floor.

"Quick, we need to clean this up." I crouched down to gather the spilled flour and also to hide the blush on my face.

"Maa maa, it'll be fine. This'll work out. We'll just clean it up, nice and simple. There's no need to rush." Tatara's slow movements expressed his carefree personality.

"Nice. And. Simple. Huh." Tatara and I froze as if lightning had struck us at the sound of Izumo's voice coming from the doorway.

We comically turned around and gulped at the sight of the anime tick mark clearly visible on Izumo's forehead.

Crap, we're in for it.

Silence filled the kitchen as Tatara and I held our breath to await our punishment.

Then, Izumo sighed and passed us a rag.

What.

DID WE JUST AVOID IMMINENT AND PERMANENT DEATH? :o

THIS MUST BE THE POWER OF TATARA.

Izumo left the kitchen after he was done checking up on us, but I was still in shock. Tatara really does keep HOMRA together.

Now that I've met him, I can't imagine a world without Tatara. He's the backbone of this family, the one who loves everyone and cares for everyone.

HE'S THE MOM.

It's something me and my college friends used to call each other when the other was acting like a mom. The mom would be the designated person who would take care of everyone either at a party, when we're cramming for finals, or just hanging out. They're the ones who make sure everyone is eating, taking breaks, not going insane, and staying safe.

Rei…. Dad…. James... I hope they're all okay.

"What are those sad eyes for? See, we're not in trouble." Tatara had already started wiping the spilled flour with the rag.

Tears started to form in my eyes as the reality of the situation hit me. My brothers, friends, dad, they're all gone. Actually, I'm the one who they think died. I'm all alone now aren't I? A feeling of sadness bubbled from deep within my chest. What if I messed up? What if I fail the kindest person I've ever met?

"I'm all alone. What if I can't do this? I can't handle this." I whispered more to myself than anyone around me.

Tatara placed down the rag and gathered me up in his arms. We were both still on the kitchen floor because I had crouched down to help Tatara. "It's okay, let it all out."

My face scrunched in despair as I buried my head into his chest and started crying my eyes out. I don't want to fail him. I don't want to fail HOMRA. I don't want to fail myself.

I never asked for any of this but it happened. Now I have the weight of this world on my shoulders. Even with a little bit of foreknowledge, what if I'm messing up the plot and something even worse happens because I'm here.

As my thoughts took a downwards spiral and my mind was going into overdrive because of the rush of emotions, it felt like the entire world was coming down on me. I got tunnel vision and couldn't see, it sounded like water was rushing in my ears, and even my breathing was too shallow or was it? My body couldn't process the things around me and I couldn't tell if I was breathing or not. Even if I was, it felt like I was suffocating.

Suddenly, I could feel slight tremors from the warm body hugging me.

Tatara was humming. It was a soft, melodic tune.

I began to take breaths in rhythm with the tune and I could feel myself starting to calm down from my panic attack.

As my tears began to dry, I could also feel that he had been rubbing my back this entire time in comforting circles.

"Hana, it'll be okay. I'm here, you're safe. Breathe, just breathe."

How could a person's voice make me feel so safe and sound?

I'm sure he had no clue what set off my panic attack, but it seemed like he knew what to do to make me feel better.

I guess I shouldn't leave him in the dark. When my breathing calmed down, I confided in him. "I'm sorry, I'm so so sorry."

"What are you sorry for?"

"I can't do this. I thought I could, but what if I can't? What if my powers fail to save someone, what if I can't protect you guys. There's this really scary thing that's going to happen a few years from now, and what if there is nothing I can do about it? I'm useless. I shouldn't be here."

As I still had my head buried in his chest, he placed his chin on top of my pink hair. "Are you going out of your way to harm someone?"

I shook my head 'no.'

"Then it's okay. Your powers exist to help others. We'll always have your back, so don't be scared. It'll be fine, things'll work out. We know you're a really strong person, Hana. But even the strongest person needs to take off their armor from time to time, and I'm here for you. To listen, to cry, to share your worries with."

I felt like crying all over again, because that was exactly what I needed to hear. I needed to know that I'm not alone in this world and Tatara just confirmed it.

We sat there for the next few minutes, with my hand firmly grasped in his.

 **A/N: This chapter was a little hard to write. I dunno why though, but if it's weirder than normal it's cuz I hit a writer's block half way through this chapter. Also I'm not the best at romance, and dw romance will not be the main topic of this fanfic, but there might be some sprinkled around here and there.**

 **S/O to I Dream Therefore I Am & lette4127 for the favorite/follow!**


	8. Himmelreich

**A/N: I was considering making this a fluff chapter, but maybe I'll post it later. I know you guys wanna see more action, so here goes! I might write a side story to talk about what Hana does during the time skips between chapters.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own the Dr Who quotes or the characters (except Hana).**

 **Kikikitsune18: I'm debating it at the moment. I'm not the best at romance, at first there wasn't going to be any... but then somehow things came together and Tatara just works for Hana. He's caring, understanding, and accepting of all the flaws she has. I don't want to give too much away... there will be a little bit of romance between Tatara and her but the story must go on. So their romance isn't what this story revolves around but it will be there. Also Hana's a wanderer so she'll sometimes be with HOMRA and other times will do her own thing. Thanks for the review!**

 **Flower power.u know u lik it: Thanks for the review! I agree, I love K Project, but there's not a lot of fanfic about it, other than romance between an OC and Yata or Mikoto. Not saying those are bad, but I have always loved time traveling/universe hopping fanfics. Thus, I decided to try my hand at one too without the main focus being romance. I'm really glad that you like it, getting reviews like yours motivates me to keep writing more chpts!**

* * *

 **Chapter 8: Himmelreich**

 **December 21, 2009**

 **3rd Person POV**

 **Location: Silver King's Blimp**

It has been a few months since Hana has been in contact with the Red Clan. After her breakdown in front of Tatara, she had stayed the night in HOMRA, then said her farewells.

Now it's December, which is colder than October. She waited at the location the Silver King refuels his blimp (information courtesy of the Gold King) and was welcomed aboard the Himmelreich.

The Himmelreich, which means, 'Kingdom of Heaven,' is a large blimp with a thick silver hull. Black glass aligns and decorates the captain's deck and a lower observation room. Two large railings stick out toeh sides as landing gear, a thick layer of metal rebar keeps a separate quarter of the ship. To keep Himmelreich in the air, there are two engine propellers protruding from the sides. In the back, there are several more propellers along with a rather large railing.

"It's pleasure to finally meet you, Hana." A man with long silver hair greeted as the pink-haired lady stepped onto the platform. He was wearing a ruffled white undershirt with a trench coat on top.

"I would say the same for you Silver King, no, Addy." Hana smiled sweetly.

He tensed. He hadn't heard that nickname in decades. "Addy?"

"Yeah! For Adolf K. Weismann. You don't expect me to go around calling you the Silver King or Adolf do you? Addy suits you much better."

It was a nickname he hadn't heard in decades. He's had a few visitors on board, sure, but they never took any liberties or became comfortable with him. The last person who had ever called him that was his precious sister.

"What brings you here?" Addy brought out two wine glasses, but Hana respectfully declined as he held one out to her.

Hana leaned forward, then smiled. "I wanna be friends with you."

Addy choked on the wine. "Sorry. What?"

* * *

 **Hana's POV**

Honestly, becoming friends with Addy wasn't that hard. He was hesitant and suspicious at first, but I didn't treat him like he was special. I treated him like I would a friend who I had not seen for a few years.

We discussed topics that ranged from different types of food to the newest book series. I even let him know a few things about my world and the way it was different from this one.

After a few hours of friendly talking, our discussion soon became heated.

"Well you may have all the time in the world, but HE doesn't. You both may have been twenty when that incident occurred, but it's been 70 years now. Have you seen him since then? After all this time?" My voice began to rise as I let my emotions get the best of me. The Gold King, after all he's done for the Silver King, and he is still not acknowledged.

"I just need more time. There has to be a way." Addy responded, almost as if it was an automatic defense mechanism. To ask for more time.

"A way for what? To bring your sister back after 70 years? No, you'll never find a way, that's because you never had any hope to begin with. That moment passed a long time ago. You never intended to look for 'hope' or 'answers.' What would your sister have done!"

"YOU KNOW NOTHING! Don't you dare bring my sister into this."

I closed my eyes and released the tension in my shoulders. With a calm voice, I spoke, "But isn't that what this is all about? You lost your sister, but my world is gone. I can never go back, never see my family again. My friends are gone. Your friends are still out there, waiting for you. It's okay to not be okay. But it is NOT okay to run off to a corner of the world, secluding yourself from all human contact for 70 years, wandering aimlessly this entire time. And do you want me to tell you why?"

"…" With their advanced technology, the airship's engine was barely a soft purring noise in the background. This only emphasized the silence that filled the room.

"Because SHE would've wanted you to live. The universe has to move forward. Pain and loss, they define us as much as happiness or love. Whether it's a world, or a relationship... Everything has its time. And everything ends."

"And what about you? I've seen you meddle. I felt your presence when you appeared in this world. I've seen all you've done. Saving that little red princess. Getting close to those HOMRA boys. Altering the Red King's Weissmann levels." Addy leaned back, as if becoming a mere spectator to the conversation.

I stiffened, I thought that that had gone unnoticed. I barely even noticed when my aura would react and absorb some of the impact from the Red King's Weissmann levels. Not enough to take him off his path of destruction, but enough to ease the burden.

"It may be selfish. But at least I was HUMAN. You don't just give up. You don't just let things happen. You make a stand! You say no! You have the guts to do what's right, even when everyone else just runs away."

"And for that I admire you. And that's what I prefer, admiring from afar." Addy swirled the wine in his glass.

I slammed my hands down on the coffee table between us to get his attention.

"Some people live more in 20 years than others do in 80. It's not the time that matters. It's the person. And you, my dear friend, need to. Get. Your. Shit. Together." I walked over and poked my finger into his chest with each punctuation. Quotes and life lessons from Doctor Who spilling out of my mouth. Man I hope Doctor Who exists in this universe, they need it.

The Silver King seemed taken aback by my forwardness, unused to human contact.

"And as my duty as your first friend in 70 years, you better bet this gets to you. Letting it get to you. You know what that's called? Being alive. Best thing there is." I twirled around with my arms out wide, as if enjoying the vastness of the world to emphasize my words. "Being alive right now is all that counts."

I waved a hand in salute as I jumped off the airship, feet first.

"This is why I don't let people on board. Friends. How troublesome." The Silver King dragged a hand tiredly down his face. His features, although immortal, seemed to age a decade in the span of five minutes.

 **A/N: Short chapter, I know. It's on purpose because I wanted Hana's words to sink in.**

 **S/O to sweetlittlemiko, Valencia Carrow, & NamikazeAi-chan for the fav/follow; and Kikikitsune18 & Flower power.u know u lik it for the reviews!**


	9. Stargazer

**A/N: 2 chapters mashed into 1! Also this chpt is longer to make up for the previous chpt which was on the shorter side.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own the music lyrics, the song is "Stargazing" by Kygo.**

 **Chpt 9: Stargazer**

 **February 2, 2010**

 **3rd Person POV**

"YOU IDIOT." Hana smacked Misaki upside the head.

"Owwwwww." Misaki grumbled and he clutched his head with one hand, the other arm in Hana's grip.

"I get a phone call saying that some idiot decided to take on a stupid group of punks all on his own. I come here, and I see you laughing it off AS IF YOUR ARM WAS NOT ALMOST CUT THROUGH TO THE BONE." While this entire conversation was been going on, Hana had Misaki's arm coated in her aura.

"They just got a jump on me! I handled them fine, I could take 'em." Misaki's pride in his clan would not be deterred by some measly punks who decided to try to do business in their territory.

"You're not invincible Misaki, stop acting like you're seven." Hana rolled her eyes at Misaki's cockiness.

His face turned red either from embarrassment or anger, who knows.

Before Misaki could retort back, Hana kept her mom-mode at full capacity. "I'm finished, just take care of yourself alright? I'm always here to heal and take care of you guys, but at least call in backup next time. Now I expect you to take a nap since this process tires your body as it accelerated your healing."

"Okay, okay, geez." Just like how Misaki doesn't stutter when talking to Anna, Misaki eventually (after several months) got used to talking to Hana. Maybe it's because Hana is now like a sibling that he's able to talk to her normally.

"Thanks for coming Hana." Izumo peeked his head into the back room that they were in. He had been tending to a bar customer when Hana came rushing in to treat Misaki.

"Yeah, anytime. Plus it's been a while since I've met up with you guys." Hana began putting away her medical supplies that she used to first sanitize the wound before she used her aura to stitch the skin back together.

"What's been goin' on lately?" Izumo made small talk as she walked back into the main area of the bar, where Anna impatiently waited and Mikoto leisurely smoked.

"I've been here and there. Got a new job lately. Guess it was worth it to invest in a PDA since it came in handy." Hana gave Anna a nice side hug as she took a seat.

"Imagine my surprise when I found a sticky note with your phone number on it just lying on my bar counter, order's on the house."

"I can be sneaky when I want to be. I'll get what she's drinking." Hana indicated to the tall young lady sitting next to her.

Said lady turned towards Hana as she realized that she was being addressed.

"Aye." Izumo made a pained face as if he was being tortured. Nevertheless, he made the drink requested. A virgin watermelon margarita with 3 scoops of…. Red bean paste.

The young lady was wearing a flowing white mini-dress with a black sash around her waist, white stockings, and white high heels. She also had on a white coat with fur ends on the sleeves. It is still quite cold outside, but the bar's interior was supplied with a steady heat. Ha, guess that saves on the heating bill since these guys are natural furnaces. In addition, the drop-dead gorgeous customer wore pearl accessories and light makeup with the outfit.

"Seri Awashima." Seri held out her hand for Hana to shake.

"Hana Kugawa. Are you a University student?" Ah. The future SCEPTER 4 Lieutenant. It seemed like Izumo had a crush on Seri, even if he tried to act cool about it. How ironic considering Izumo is HOMRA's second-in-command, similar to the position of a Lieutenant.

"I go to X University."

"My, oh my, that's one of those big ones nearby isn't it?" Hana took a sip of the 'abomination.'

Her eyes widened in surprise. "This is quite good!"

"Isn't it? The red bean paste adds a sweet tang to the drink. Especially in vodka, I typically get 5 scoops." Seri's hair was down and swept to the side as she animatedly talked about different drink and snack combos with red bean paste.

Izumo seemed like all he wanted to do was run out of the bar from their conversation.

Their conversation ranged from sports to beauty routines. It seemed like they both had a strict workout routine and made plans to go to the gym together next time they were both in the same area.

* * *

 **March 2010**

" _Singing."_

Once a week, Hana had taken to street performing.

At first, it might seem odd that she would do something like that considering she wasn't in need of any money. But it was her way to relieve stress and just have fun.

Pepper was curled up on Hana's shoulders as she strummed her guitar. She was sitting outside a quaint little coffee shop in downtown Shizume. She had become fast friends with the owner, who was glad to have her perform every week and draw in customers.

Hana strummed her guitar strings as began her next song. " _You're saying it's hopeless, that I should hope less. Heaven can help us, well maybe "she" might."_

Fate is something that can't be changed. At first, that's what I thought before I came here. I'm not going to waste my time thinking why I was sent here, instead, I'm going to focus on how to save people. I still want to become a doctor, even if these powers are kind of cheating.

" _You say it's beyond us, what is beyond us? Let's see and decide."_ Sometimes it does seem like our goals and ambitions are far out of our reach, but are they really? Or are we holding ourselves back?

" _We've been meteoric, even before this. Burns half as long when it's twice as bright."_ Hana's thoughts turned to Mikoto whose light was so bright. Too bright. He was harming himself and shortening his lifespan because his aura and powers were too strong.

" _So if it's beyond us, then it's beyond us. Let's see and decide. And I will still be here, stargazing. I'll still look up, look up. Look up for love."_ What will happen will happen. I can't go back and change the past, but what I can do is change the future. Or what will be the future in this universe.

" _I'm trying to save us, you don't wanna save us. You blame human nature, and say it's unkind."_ Mikoto, please let me save you. I don't know what your reaction is going to be, but please don't turn me away. Also, future Colorless King, I'm coming for you. I'm going to try to get to you before you lose yourself in your hunger for power.

" _Let's make up our own minds, we've got our whole lives. Let's see and decide, decide."_ I don't know how much time I have here, but Tatara has so much to live for. I can't let him down. I won't let him down. I will make sure the Colorless King doesn't kill him. I can't. I can't lose another person again.

" _And I will still be here, stargazing. I'll still look up, look up. Look up for love. Stars don't disappear, they keep blazing. Even when the night is over."_ Stars are always there in the sky. They don't disappear when the sun comes up, it's just another star that outshines the rest of them. The stars are always there for us. It must be a lonely life up there among the stars, Addy. You're all alone, just gazing down at all of us as we gaze back up at you.

There were many people who stopped and listened to Hana's performance. Others continued to walk on after a quick glance at her.

Pepper, a typically sleepy and lazy ferret (who sometimes reminded Hana of Mikoto), suddenly perked up. Hana was too distracted in her thoughts to realize that Pepper's head had come up and her eyes were locked onto a certain figure.

This figure was wearing a blue fitted sweater with khaki pants. He was wearing rimmed glasses and had his blue hair parted to one side.

Gathering herself like a cat ready to pounce on a mouse, Pepper jumped off of Hana's shoulder and directly towards the tall figure.

Hana stopped singing as she realized that Pepper was now being held by the scruff of her neck by a passer-by.

"Gomenasai!" Hana bowed in apology to the person Pepper had caused an inconvenience to.

"Pepper, what are you doing?" Hana scolded as she held both palms up and open as if to receive change from a cashier. The passer-by dropped Pepper into her waiting palms.

However, Pepper knew that this was going to happen. The second the man let go of her, Pepper used Hana's hands as a springboard and jumped onto the person's shoulders.

Hana mentally face palmed, but the person just smiled.

"You're looking for this right?" The blue-haired man reached into his vest pocket and retrieved a piece of dried chicken. It was in a plastic bag like beef jerky… just chicken jerky instead. The stranger handed it to Pepper who took it with her front paws eagerly and began chowing down.

It's not that Hana starves Pepper or anything, in fact, she's heavier than she's supposed to be as she hunts her own food in addition to what Hana feeds her. Chicken is her favorite food though, and so it wasn't any surprise that she could smell the dried chicken from this person.

"I am so sorry Mr…."

"Munakata. Reisi Munakata." Hana's eyes which had been carefully watching Pepper shot to the person's face. She quickly realized that…. This person is the future 4th and Blue King. He's not in uniform though. Hana doesn't remember when he became the 4th King, but it must be soon.

Last month she met Seri, and now she's running into Reisi. Are these coincidences? Or did fate plan something out…

"Come here Pepper." Hana softly called out and tried to pick Pepper up from Resi's left shoulder. However, Pepper avoided her hands and perched herself on Resi's right shoulder instead. "Okay, I know you're mad I didn't give you any chicken yesterday, but you need to watch your weight! You can't escape from your problems by jumping onto other people's shoulders and getting them to give you extra treats. By doing so, it only means you will continue to lose your way, doesn't it?"

Reisi chuckled as Hana lectured the small animal.

"I apologize for her behavior Munakata-san. I'll make it up to you."

"It's alright. You just reminded me of me when I was in high school. I had a friend who I would lecture in much the same way."

"Would you like to grab some coffee? By the time Pepper finishes her snack, she'll be more reasonable. Must've been a little hangry."

When Reisi agrees, Hana packs her guitar and they both settle into the coffee shop.

It was a nice setting. The aroma of coffee beans with the wooden furnishings gave off a nice, homey feel. As they ordered our drinks, they sat at a corner table, waiting for them to be delivered. The owner had no issue with Pepper (which you imagine a coffee shop would), because she's well behaved (typically), and the owner and Hana are good friends. Hana often frequented the coffee shop, either before or after her performances and sometimes would receive a drink on the house when the owner was in town. She owned several chains in other nearby cities.

The girl with pink hair carefully sipped her mocha latte. Enjoying the drink, she softly hummed, " _If it's beyond us, then it's beyond us. I will still be here, stargazing._ " I want to be a star, they keep blazing and never disappear. " _Even when it's night, that's how people find their light."_ Even that loner up there appreciates them.

Hana pointed outside the window and towards the sky. "Have you heard the rumors about the aircraft in the sky?"

"I've heard of the app called 'candle,' which lets you light up your PDA in a red color. People say that you can see the light from extremely far away. There's an urban legend that states that when someone who is suffering points their 'candle' at that aircraft, those above the Earth will rescue them. Quite silly and nonsensical in my opinion."

"Hmmmm…. But every rumor is based on a grain of truth. You just need to sift away the untruths to find the facts."

"Sounds like a waste of time." Reisi's sharp eyes seemed to dull at the thought of being a mere spectator, it sounds a lot more fun to have an influence and an impact in the world.

"Well, some are fascinated and wish to live like that. Up among the stars, being adored by everyone."

"If there really was a person on that blimp, I would image he'd be quite lonely. Up among the stars, never interacting with others, yet always being a spectator. Playing God, how arrogant."

In her head, Hana gwaffed and without her self-control would have done a spit-take at Reisi's words. _That is exactly how Addy is! Without even knowing him or if he even exists, Reisi explained his personality perfectly. Addy, you have to step up your game, even those of us earthbound know of your arrogance. Then again, as the future Blue King, his perceptiveness must be a trait of his._

Instead of a situation where her drink would be all over the table, Hana kept her mouth shut and nodded her head in agreement. Then, she decided to change the subject. "Hypothetically speaking, if there is a situation where one is fighting to do the right thing, even if it harms another, is it considered just?"

"One country's freedom fighters is another country's terrorists. There is no right or wrong, it just depends on perspective."

"Using that argument, then even something that is considered 'just,' is based on the justice wielder's perspective isn't it?" Hana leaned forward slightly in her chair.

"No matter what, war and chaos should not be allowed."

"But what if it is the battle and chaos that opens the gates to equality and freedom? Should one stand aside and allow their freedom to be taken from them? Or should they stand up and do the right thing, even if the entire world is against it."

Reisi was silent for a moment.

"Right now, we live in times of peace. There hasn't been a war since WWII, and since then the world has healed and prospered. Back then, there was a need to fight the fight and win the war. But now, if the cause is pure and valid then there should be no hesitation when fulfilling one's duties."

During the entire conversation, Resi held a level eye contact with the pink-haired lady. He did not yet have the confidence of a King, but he sure spoke like one.

Hana smiled softly and stood up, her cup of coffee already finished. "We're only human, right? Have a good day Reisi-san."

She waited until he returned the sentiment, then turned her back on him and walked towards the entrance. As her boots clicked on the walnut-colored wooden flooring, the small ferret leapt off of Reisi's shoulders and onto Hana's.


	10. Strays

**A/N: This chapter is based on K: Side: Red. Wow I'm just churning out chpts. I wrote this one in about 2 and a half hours. I might not finish this story before my Winter Break is up. :(**

 **Chapter 10: Strays**

 **April 1, 2010 (4:30PM)**

Hana sat at the bar, reading an English medical book quietly. She was engrossed in the chapter about infectious diseases. So much so that when Tatara, who has recently been obsessed with recording everything the gang does, holds a camera up and begins recording her, she just ignores him.

It was then that Kosuke Fujishima walks in with a person on his back. It was raining outside, but Kosuke's white shirt with a British flag imprint was not wet. Must be a HOMRA trait because of the fire. They can never get too cold.

Is Kosuke British? He always seems to wear the British flag shirt. Even when he wears a jacket on top, the print stands out.

Kosuke is on the quiet side, yet he's known to pick up a lot of strays and bring them into the bar.

"What's the matter? What's that strange thing behind your back?" Izumo was drying a glass cup when he noticed Kosuke walk in.

"...I picked it up." Kosuke replied without a look of guilt on his face.

Tatara was filming this entire exchange and narrated for the video. "Fujishima often picks up some stray cats or dogs, but it's the first time you've picked up a human."

"That's not allowed, so _no_. Put him back to where you found him." Izumo chastised like the nagging old man he is.

Kosuke protested, "But it's _raining_!"

"Then please do bring him back to your own house." Izumo's face became troubled as he thought, _why do you have to bring it back here_?

"My parents are at home."

By this point, there was too much noise in the bar and Hana couldn't concentrate on reading. She listened in to the conversation and piped up, "Izumo, you're so heartless. He's not gonna destroy your bar so chill out."

"Forget it, isn't it fine? Kusanagi-san." Tatara also gave Izumo a piece of his mind.

Izumo sighed as a cloud of darkness formed above his head by the 3 people ganging up on him. "Fine."

Kosuke called Hana over. "Can you take a look at him?"

"Yeah, sure. Place him down on this couch."

Hana examined the boy. It seemed that he was often abused and malnourished. Hana took note of the handprints around his neck. The bruises on his face and arms were in various stages of healing, which meant that the abuse had been going on for a while. He was also soaking wet, so Hana also needed to grab towels and a change of clothes for him.

She went up to Anna's room to grab her supplies. When Hana was over, she shared the room with Anna. Hana liked to keep some of the heavier medical items like bruise ointments and bandages in a drawer. The emergency equipment in her backpack was for just that, emergencies. As the blonde haired boy was fine until now, he could wait a few more minutes as Hana gathered her supplies.

In her rummaging, Hana paused, unsure of where to get a change of male clothes. The boy's clothes were drenched and using the red aura on a non-clan member would probably mean their death. It's not worth the risk to dry him off that way. The only other person who lived in the bar was Mikoto.

She sighed and decided, Mikoto will be fine, he has plenty of jackets he doesn't wear. As long as this boy keeps his head and upper body warm, it should be fine right? Hana did NOT want to go through Mikoto's pants and underwear so she decided that the boy would be alright with a dry jacket as she dried his clothes.

Hana knocked on Mikoto's door and entered. Mikoto was sitting up in bed, smoking.

An angry tick mark appeared on her forehead. "It's 4:30PM, Mikoto! Also, I need to borrow one of your sweaters alright? Kosuke picked up a stray."

A puff of smoke filled the room as Mikoto exhaled, "Again?"

"Yeah, it must be in his genes or something. I wonder if there is a specific chromosomal loci that would affect a person's outwards expression of emotion. Wouldn't that be super interesting? What type of genetic inheritance would this be? Could be polygenic inheritance considering the fact that this single characteristic is controlled by multiple genes. No, it might not be genetic but could be the endocrine system. The hormones on certain glands that are released, possibly a thyroid stimulating hormone that releases a thyroid releasing hormone, or a different type of stimulating hormone, which tells Kosuke's mind and body to care and save those in a bad situation."

As Hana rambled, Mikoto walked out of the room.

As soon as Mikoto was out, Hana smiled and stopped babbling. Her plan to get Mikoto annoyed enough to leave his room worked.

* * *

While Hana was upstairs gathering supplies and pestering Mikoto to get out of his room, the boy Kosuke picked up suddenly awakened.

By then, Misaki was already at the bar and was the first to notice the change, "Oh, you're awake." He announced to the room, "The guy who was half-dead on the road finally wakes up."

"Aah, that's true." Tatara commented as he looked over.

The boy was wearing camouflage pants with an old, beaten up sweater. The expression on his face was guarded and terrified, often like the abused animal strays Kosuke would bring in. It seemed like the boy was uneasy and uncomfortable being surrounded by strangers.

However, Misaki, like the hot-head he is, didn't take the poor guy's situation into account and immediately started grilling him.

"You alright? What's your name? Who are you? Why did you faint in that place?"

Tatara knew he had to be gentle, and interrupted Misaki, "Suddenly being asked so many questions, you must feel awkward, right? Anyways, this is the guy who found you."

Tatara patted Kosuke on the shoulder to indicate the stray's savior.

Kosuke and the stray just stared at each other.

Bothered by the silence, Misaki became angry, "What the hell? You don't even know how to say thank you? Or perhaps you're a foreigner that doesn't understand Japanese?"

The stray hmphed and replied in English. " **Shut your mouth shorty."**

You could hear the sound of Misaki's brain breaking. "AH?! This fellow was looking down on me right! Don't think that I don't understand English! You bastard!"

In the background, you could see Tatara holding Misaki back and telling him to calm down, calm down.

Izumo stepped in the chastise the stray, " **I know Yata wasn't polite enough, but your attitude is also not acceptable."**

The stray looked thoroughly scolded.

Kosuke stepped in, "What's your name?"

"...Eric Surt."

Misaki called from the bar, "YOU CAN SPEAK JAPANESE JUST FINE!"

Kosuke noticed from Hana's mutterings earlier that she said multiple times that he was malnourished and underweight and decided to voice the obvious, "...you are underweight. Anyways, go eat something first."

As Kosuke told Eric this, you could hear slow footsteps coming down the stairs.

"No, it's fine…" Eric was startled as he noticed a red-haired man behind him. He was so startled he fell off of the couch. This prompted Hana to come running down the stairs as she had heard the loud outburst and crash.

"Ah, Mikoto-san!" Misaki greeted.

At the same time, Hana called out, "Is everything okay, what's happening? Oh, you're awake."

Hana was still on the stairs when everyone heard Eric say, "Homra's…..king."

"Ah, you've met King before?" Tatara asked.  
"Aah… no…" Eric's gaze landed on the floor. It seemed like he was hiding something.

Hana came forward with her arms full of supplies. " **Hey, I'm Hana. I'm just going to put some ointment on your bruises alright? It won't hurt. Your name is Eric right?"** She continued to talk in their native language to make him feel more comfortable.

She took care of his main injuries as they weren't life threatening. She doesn't normally show her powers to those outside of the Red Clan or out in the open. There needed to be some secrecy or else people might come after her.

Eric stayed with the Clan for the rest of the day and continued to reside a guest throughout the following morning.

* * *

 **(Next Day) April 2nd. 9:30AM**

While everyone was eating breakfast, Misaki walked in. "You… why are you still here?"

Eric just continued to ignore Misaki.

Misaki walked over to Kosuke and hugged an arm around his shoulders. "... What the hell, this fellow here." Misaki had an aggravated look on his face.

Kosuke wasn't bothered by Misaki's arm around his shoulders. His face remained passive and guilt-free, "It's just that he has nowhere to go."

Misaki glared daggers at Eric. Then he angrily sits in the empty bar chair between Tatara and Hana.

"Don't you think Eric resembles it…?" Tatara began.

"Resembles what?"

"Fujishima picked up a retriever once, didn't he?"

"So? Even the dogs are cuter than him…"

"Yata, don't you remember? That dog used to hate you will all his heart too, didn't it."

At that point, Hana burst out laughing. "Ahahha! I would've loved to see that."

Misaki's face took on a gloomy expression at that realization.

"Ah, I'm really sorry. Did I reopen your old wounds? Here, for you." Tatara placed a bowl in Misaki's hands while using his other hand to pat Misaki reassuringly on the head.

Hana's face twisted into one of disgust at the sight of the bowl.

"What is this?" Misaki asked curiously.

"Preserved pickles. He's been eating that all morning." Hana answered. "Keep that away from me, it smells weird."

"WHY?!"

Tatara defended himself. "Well…. Once I had started trying to make the dish, it was really… profound. Using rice and sugar to make pickles. This is scientific knowledge and research."

"Not even knowing the purpose of the dish, you really went ahead and made it!?" Misaki was still bewildered.

"Nuh-uh. That's not science, you idiot." Hana added onto Misaki's outburst.

"But, Fujishima is really a nice guy…" Misaki commented while munching on the sliced pickles. "That time when he picked the dog up, he also took good care of it, until we found its owner."

"Uhm, this fellow wouldn't be the same situation as last time, would it?"

It seemed Eric overheard Totsuka and Yata talking about him, which annoyed him to the point that he decided to leave. He stood up to the bar and made a move to leave.

Kōsuke reminded him to give thanks for his food and clean up after himself. "You haven't said 'Thanks for the food.'"

"...anks for the food…" Eric quietly muttered reluctantly.

"Thanks to who?"

Eric looked over at Hana who was still eating.

"Hana-san, thanks for the food." Eric hesitantly muttered again.

"And what about the dirty tableware?" Eric picked up his spoon and plate and went to put it in the sink.

"Oh, the stray dog is being obedient now?" Misaki piped up.

 _Man, he just can't keep his mouth shut,_ Hana thought in her head.

" **Stop yelling you little Chihuahua."** Eric smirked.

Honestly, Misaki deserved it so Hana just laughed out loud instead of scolding Eric. By her facial expressions, Misaki knew something was up.

"HEY. That guy just said chihuahua, right?! Isn't a chihuahua one of the dog types?!"

Saburota Bando laughed too, "That's REALLY small!"

"That is what I never want to hear from you!" Misaki jumped Bando who had been making fun of him.

Izumo, worried for his bar, interrupted the fight. "Stop it, are you two kids!?"

To the side, Izumo asked Eric, "You really have nowhere to go?"

"Uhm."

"Well, forget it." Izumo went around giving cleaning instructions to everyone but Hana, who did enough on her own. She was HOMRA's personal doctor, when in the mood to cook, cooked the best dishes, and cleaned up after herself.

At that point, Eric approached Kosuke and Izumo, "Uhm, excuse me. You guys are HOMRA right?"

"Yes." Kosuke answered.

"Do you all really have unimaginable power?"

Izumo laughed at the rumors. "Unimaginable power? Well, you can say that."  
"... Who… is the strongest in here?"

Izumo lit a cigarette. "Well, Mikoto is too strong. He is totally on a different level from us. Then there's Hana." Eric's stricken gaze landed on Hana who was playing a game with Anna. He was surprised, not because she was a girl, but because she was so kind and from outward appearance didn't seem to be all that powerful.

After staring at Hana for a second, Eric probed. "Leaving the King and Hana out, the strongest should be Kusanagi-san right?"

An intake of tobacco, then a sigh. "Aaah. That's difficult to say."

Kosuke answered Eric's question. "After Kusanagi-san, the one who has the most outstanding ability is Yata-chan."

"Oh, then what about him? That person beside chihuahua." Eric indicated at Tatara.

"Ah, Totsuka-san doesn't fight."

"Is that so?"

Izumo joined in again. "He isn't _that_ type of guy. Although he's not a fighter, how should I say… everything would be easier if he were there." At the confused look on Eric's face, Izumo explained further. "Even our enemies would put down their guard around him."

"...really?"

* * *

 **(Few Days Later) April 6th. 9AM**

A few days passed when eventually, Tatara asked Eric, "If you really have no place to stay, you could join and stay with us, you know?"

Eric quietly stormed off after this question.

"So he hates me too…" Tatara looked a little sad, but still had a smile on his face.

Misaki's brows furrowed. "He really has an attitude problem."

Hana just continued studying her textbook.

Kosuke stopped Eric after he left the bar. "Hey. You should just ignore what Tatara said. Nothing personal or rude was meant by his proposal. Although your motives aren't clear, anyone who can attend our _test_ is welcomed, not just if you have nowhere to go."

Ignoring Kosuke's words, Eric remarked, "I heard recently you've been gathering some dogs and cats. So you're the type of guy who would responsibly take care of every single last one of them, huh?"

"What are you saying? I've never treated you like a dog…"

"I… AM a dog."

Kosuke was surprised at Eric's words. "... What are you saying…"

Kosuke was cut off as Eric's PDA rung.

Eric stood frozen as his PDA continued to go off.

"Isn't your phone making that noise?"

"Of… of course, you're right." As Eric answered the call, his hands were trembling.

* * *

 **10PM**

That night, everyone except for Anna, Hana, and Tatara was downstairs cleaning the bar. It seemed that Hana had pulled an all-nighter and was fast asleep in her and Anna's room.

Eric walked up the stairs that led to Mikoto's room while everyone else was preoccupied.

Mikoto was lounging across the sofa in his room, asleep. His head was tipped back on one arm of the couch, which he used as a makeshift pillow. To shield his eyes from the dim light, he had his right forearm resting over his arms while his left arm dangled off the couch.

His long form didn't fit on the sofa so he crossed one leg over the other as it extended over the opposite side of the furniture. He wore black jeans and a white fitted waffle shirt as he napped. (A/N: If you've never heard of a waffle shirt… well just know it looks very attractive on muscular men, like Chris Evans). The top two buttons of the shirt were undone.

Eric reached out for Mikoto's neck, but a centimeter before he could wrap his hands around it, Mikoto violently awoke.

Mikoto's body was surrounded in flames and balls of red aura lunged towards the intruder.

Eric was slammed against the wall by the force of Mikoto's red aura and there were two large scorch marks on the walls to either side of him, where the flames missed.

While Eric was flat against the wall, shaking with terror, the Red King was in a daze.

Groggily, Mikoto held his head in one hand, "...What?"

Tatara burst into the room, "What was that sound just now?!"

He immediately noticed Eric and then the scorch marks on the walls. "Uh-, wha-, what happened to this?"

"I was in a daze." Mikoto answered simply. Finally concentrating, he could make out the stranger in his room. "I remember… you're the guy who came with Fujishima. If I had not missed you just now, I could have killed you…. What do you want?"

Startled at being addressed, Eric replied, "No… nothing." Then dashed out of the room.

Tatara's eyes followed Eric's jerky movements down the stairs and then sighed. "Wow… how should we explain _this_ to Kusanagi-san… Did you have another nightmare?"

Tatara knew Izumo was going to be PISSED at the damage to the walls, since he had been on a huge Spring cleaning spree.

Mikoto tsked. "... of course not. Be careful with that guy."

"Eh?"

"I felt… his killing intent."

* * *

Outside, Kosuke noticed Eric talking to someone on the phone. He was in an alleyway.

Kosuke could only hear Eric's side of the conversation.

"...Yes, but it still won't do. Just a moment ago I was almost burnt to ashes."

"... Got it. Please spare the women and children." Eric bargains with the person on the other line.

"...Yes, then… only Totsuka Tatara …"

* * *

Back inside Mikoto's room, Kusanagi stared at the incinerated holes in his wall. Mikoto was on one side of the couch, his forearms on his thighs as he slouched forwards.

Hana was on the other side of the couch, as she had been woken up and informed of the situation.

She had her head leaned back towards the wall the couch was up against, and her eyes closed. Her head was throbbing because she was interrupted from her REM sleep.

Tatara and Anna stood side by side in front of the couch.

Izumo was astonished. "How can this be?"

"... No, I told you, I was in a _daze_." Mikoto supplied.

Izumo whirled around in anger, "I already heard that, you idiot! You… KNOW that I have been putting a lot of effort in cleaning the place. AND THIS… is no longer a question about cleaning, this needs a total repair!"

"I'm sorry." Mikoto sweatdropped.

"JUST BECAUSE YOU SAY SORRY, IT DOESN'T MEAN THE PROBLEM IS SOLVED!"

"Okay okay, Kusanagi-san, don't get your panties in a twist. I've got this." Hana waved her hand around as she yawned.

Hana walked up to the wall, concentrated for a few moments, and activated her aura. She moved her right hand in a counter-clockwise direction as her left hand was directed at the damaged wall. The time reversed and the wall went back to normal.

"Hana-chan! You're our savior! I can't thank you enough, but what did I say about using your aura unnecessarily."

Hana sleepily leaned against the now-repaired wall and slid down to the ground. "Ah, umm, snooze them for allergies."

"No, no, I said to only use them in emergencies!" Izumo's scolding landed on deaf ears as Hana was already asleep.

Tatara chuckled, then walked over and picked Hana's prone body up, bridal style. "I'll take her back to her room. Come on Anna, let's tuck Hana into bed."

 **A/N: Next chpt, we will find out what Eric is up to! Actually, if you just read K: Side: Red, you'll know, but you won't know about how Hana comes into play here.**

 **S/O to** **leofrick, casper2222, nijha44, ILoveRebornNarutoKProject, AliceMary25, and SUCHNOMUCHWOW for the fav/follow!**


	11. Blessing and Burden

**A/N: I don't own K Project.**

 **Thanks to** **Kikikitsune18 and YuriCrystalMoonlight for the reviews!**

 **YuriCrystalMoonlight: I don't want to make any promises about a couple, but there might be. There will be some budding romance but it won't be full on lemons, mainly cuz I'm bad at writing romance scenes. Maybe I'll do a spin-off or a side story after I finish this one. This story is not going to heavily focus on romance, but there will be some here and there.**

* * *

 **Chpt 11: Blessing and Burden**

 **April 7th. 1AM**

Tatara had contacted Eric to meet him in the park at 1AM. Hana had been sleeping most of the day and into the late evening, so she was awake when she heard Tatara speaking on the phone. On his end of the conversation, she heard him say that they should meet up at the nearby park. At this point in the conversation, Hana finally realized what had been bugging her this entire time. Tatara figured things out with Eric and was going to talk to him in an environment that would make him more comfortable, away from the Homra Bar. However, Eric was going to attempt to kill Tatara!

It had been so long since something went according to the plot she knew, that she forgot all about this scene. That medical textbook had held her full attention for the past week or so (what? It was a completely new medical technique that had never before been discovered! It has a 99.9% survival rate!).

Anyways, once her brain recuperated from pulling all-nighters reading the textbook, she just remembered that Eric was being threatened by a gang the boys had crushed a few months back. Hana recalled the news it made when it happened. To her it wasn't any surprise since she knew that HOMRA regulated the underground and often took down gangs, but this one made big news since it had been a well-established gang with lots of connections. Was the name Hikawa or something like that?

"I'm going with you." Hana's tone of voice left no room for an argument. She had walked into the room as soon as Tatara had put his PDA down.

"Hana-chan, I-"

Hana shot him a look.

Tatara sighed, "Alright, let's go then."

* * *

 **At the Park.**

"Why did you call me here?" Eric, with his hoodie up and his hands stuffed into his pockets, questioned as he arrived on the scene.

"Well, there's a few things that I'd like to discuss with you."

"Oh, really?" Eric's voice was monotone, "I too, have some business with you."

Eric hesitated for a moment before blurting out, "I'm sorry. Please die!"

At that moment, Eric lunged at Tatara.

At the same time, Hana was prepared and stepped in front of Tatara. She was about to do a roundhouse kick to knock Eric back and then pin him down to the floor.

However, Kosuke stepped in front of Hana and grabbed the knife in his left hand.

With blood gushing out of his wound, Kosuke yelled at Eric, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING, HUH!?"

Then Kosuke turned to Tatara and Hana, the knife still clutched tightly in his hand, "TOTSUKA-SAN AND HANA-SAN AS WELL!"

Tatara and Hana looked at each other and did a collective, "eh?"

"PLEASE HAVE A LITTLE MORE WARINESS!"

Tatara protested, "S-sorry. I really didn't expect that Kosuke-san would get involved in this…"

Of all things, Tatara was concerned that he was wasting Kosuke's time by getting him involved in the situation. "NOT THAT! YOU. IF YOU KEEP THIS UP, YOU'LL REALLY END UP DEAD SOMEDAY!"

Hana mumbled under her breath, "But I was here. I would've saved him."

No one heard her.

They turned their attention to Eric, who had on a face of regret. He was even trembling. She felt sorry for the poor guy, he's never been around people who actually care. All his life, he's been ordered around and abused, never treated like a human being.

Tatara asked Eric, "...you're the kind of person that kills others?"

Eric still hesitated to respond.

Kosuke threw the knife onto the ground and grabbed Eric's shirt with his hands. "Since you didn't want to talk at all, I didn't even try to begin listening to you. But now, I regret that I didn't hear you out, even if I had to force you to speak." Kosuke's voice was still full of anger, "You said you're a 'dog' right? What do you mean by that?"

Hana came up beside Kosuke and gently pulled down the sleeve of Eric's jacket. She revealed an arm full of bruises. "You're not really happy, are you?"

"Do you remember 'Hikawa,' the group that HOMRA had crushed? Though it's just a group that has skirmishes with the Yakuzas constantly… this has nothing to do with you guys at all, but that place was my world." Eric wiped his chin, "Ever since my parents (members of the group) died, I was kept as the dog of the group. In return for being fed, I was ordered around and I did anything they wanted me to."

"So, in revenge for pulverizing their group, you've been ordered to kill Totsuka-san?"

"For them, it would be best if I could kill the King of HOMRA. If I don't succeed, I'll be killed. A dog that doesn't follow its Master's command is unnecessary, right?"

"...Have you not thought of asking us for help?" Kosuke spoke up.

"...huh? Why?..." Eric said under his breath.

Tatara couldn't hear what Eric said, "What was that?"

"DO I EVEN HAVE THE RIGHT TO BE SAVED BY YOU PEOPLE?!" Eric's outburst used up so much emotion, his frail and malnourished body almost gave out. He normally whispered his answers because he barely had the strength to speak in a louder volume.

Tatara lightened the mood, "So if it's me, then even Eric can kill me."

Surprised, Eric looked Tatara in the eyes, "...you knew, but you still called for me?"

Confident in his words, Tatara responded, "But you weren't thinking to kill."

As Tatara worked his magic and revealed to Eric intentions he didn't even realize, Hana was taking care of Kosuke. She had pulled Kosuke aside, knowing the danger to Tatara was gone. With her back to Eric, so he couldn't see what she was doing, Hana activated her aura, but only used enough to stop the bleeding.

It would scar, but she needed the rest of her energy to heal Eric's wounds. It seemed like she could finally reveal her powers if Eric is able to admit he needs help. She knew Mikoto. If Eric has good intentions and is a good person, Mikoto's aura will accept him. As soon as he's in the Red Clan, she can reveal her powers and heal him. The healing rate on those that are part of a clan is better than those who have not yet been exposed to Weismann levels.

Since her power revolves around the seven clans, she can control certain things. She can affect the Weismann levels of Kings, sort of control their powers, and heal. Hana is still figuring out her powers as she's unsure of how they work. Even Dresden doesn't know the full scope of her powers, since there seemed to be another force affecting them.

"We are not a charity organization, and you have no right to be rescued by us. However, if it's an 'advantageous opportunity,' there should be lots of them, since there is such a good-natured person here after all." Tatara pointed at Kosuke, who was the most soft-hearted clan member.

Kosuke walked up to Eric, and placed his hand that was bound in bandages on Eric's head, "Try and say, 'help me.'"

With tears running down his bowed head, Eric said in a clear, but hesitant voice, "...Please help me…"

* * *

 **Back at Homra Bar.**

Izumo was on the phone. "Eric's a remnant of the Yakuza group that we had pulverized, huh…"

Mikoto was sitting on one of the barstools at the far end of the bar table, but he could still clearly hear their entire conversation.

Tatara replied on the other side of the line, "A remnant, or rather, he's being used as a 'dog' and is being threatened."

"So, that means Eric has confessed and talked to you about everything?" Izumo sighed. "You were almost killed by Eric, weren't you?"

"Nooooo….." Tatara replied sheepishly.

"DON'T. TRY. TO. HIDE. IT."

"It's fine, it's fine! It can somehow be managed!" Tatara gave a few laughs in his response.

Another sigh. At that sigh, Hana invited herself into the conversation and leaned over Tatara's shoulder, "Kusanagi-san, did you know that every time you sigh, a bit of happiness escapes? No wonder you have so many wrinkles!"

Hana couldn't see it, but on the other side of the phone, Izumo developed an angry tick mark. Ignoring what she said, he sighed (again), and replied, "...Anyways, I understand the situation. Just bring Eric back here for now."

"I said I was almost killed but it was me who persuaded him to meet up with me…. So please?" Tatara asked for leniency on Eric.

"Well, that depends on the King's mood." Izumo ended the call.

Then he addressed Mikoto, who seemed to be in a good mood, "What are you going to do?"

Mikoto smirked.

Almost surprised by the reaction, Izumo knew what this meant. "You're going to go alone?"

"Do you think the number of people matters?"

"...How terrifying."

* * *

 **In an undisclosed warehouse in East Shimizu City.**

A group of 30-40 scary-looking gang members surrounded the form who had just casually walked into their base of operations. They all had loose fighting stances and some had their guns pulled, aimed at the red-haired man.

Everyone was frozen as they realized that the man's legs were on fire, but it didn't seem to burn him. They had heard rumors before. Rumors of monsters who could control fire. The one they had sent their 'dog' to dispose of.

What's more is this man didn't look like he had a care in the world. He was smirking the entire time he strode into their stronghold.

The tension was so thick you could cut it with a knife.

Finally, the red-haired man who was on fire broke the tension. "Yo. So it's you guys who have business with me, right?"

No blood, bones, or ashes were left when the red-haired man strode back out of the warehouse.

* * *

 **Homra Bar, 1 Hour Later**

When Mikoto returned to the bar, Izumo directed him to where Kosuke, Eric, and Tatara were standing nervously. "They're waiting."

Hana was lounging on the couch, already aware of what was going to happen. She was waiting for when she could finally heal those terrible bruises of Eric's.

Mikoto walked over to the group of three, and Kosuke came forward, "Mikoto-san, I'm sorry. This time's matter is my responsibility." Kosuke bowed his head, "Without knowing it, I had brought this guy along, just because I joined HOMRA."

"CUT IT OUT!" Eric grabbed Kosuke's left shoulder and pulled him up. "I may be a lowlife, but I don't want to fall even further by pushing my responsibility to someone else. I am entirely prepared."

Mikoto stared at Eric and approached him silently, his right hand ablaze with red aura.

Startled, Eric took a step back before standing strong and bowing his head, awaiting his doom.

Kosuke tried to step in as Mikoto grabbed Eric's head with his flaming arm, but Izumo held him back as Eric started screaming.

The flame of providence traveled from Mikoto's hand to Eric's body, but didn't burn him.

As soon as the flames were extinguished, Eric pulled down his left jacket shoulder, where he was feeling the warmest. At that spot on his left shoulder, stood a HOMRA insignia.

Clutching his shoulder in confusion of the acceptance, "...Wh-why?"

"I felt weak from watching that uneasy farce." Mikoto replied as he walked away from the scene. He knew Eric was pretending to be strong, but in reality was a quiet and reserved person.

As Mikoto headed towards the stairs, Tatara stood in his way.

"We can do that even without such a threat you know."

"Shut up." Mikoto bonked him on his head.

"Ite~! It hurts…" Tatara clutched his injured head.

"You're to take care of the newcomer, aren't you?" Mikoto walked up to his room and shut the door.

Tatara smiled, "Got it!"

Hana approached Tatara, Eric, Kosuke, and Izumo, and subtlety placed a hand on Tatara's shoulder as she passed by.

Tatara could feel the slight bruise on his forehead ease and disappear by the time Hana let go. However, she never made eye contact with him, she just looked forward.

Hana crouched down by Eric, "This might freak you out a bit."

Eric flinched as Hana placed hands surrounded in pink mist on his arms. He feared that it would hurt, just like he thought the fire was going to burn him. However, just like the fire from Mikoto, Hana's didn't hurt either.

In fact, it made him feel a lot stronger. He then realized that his bruises were fading away. There was no longer a dull ache as the lacerations and bruises around parts of his body healed, including the ones on his neck and abdomen. He couldn't remember the last time his body didn't have an injury.

"This is my secret power, so gotta keep it on the down low, alright?" Hana winked as she wiggled her fingers in the air.

"Does this mean I also have this power? Like Mikoto's?"

Hana gave a soft smile, "Mine's a little different. It's a blessing and a burden that I can't share."

 **S/O to MystiqueR45, hamysophie2910, BubblesTheMonster, Lilly2910, Ever-M, and Oomiku for the fav/follow!**


	12. Basashi Commotion Pt 1

**A/N: Sorry that it has been a while since I've posted! Spring semester started and wowzas is it a lot more difficult. I picked up more activities and there's some drama drama going on so gotta deal with that. Writing helps with the stress, although sometimes it leads to me getting more stressed since I'm procrastinating. I'm sure you've all felt that way sometimes.**

 **Also, the updates are going to be a bit more sporadic at this point, but I promise I will complete this story. I hate leaving readers hanging.**

 **Btw, I don't own K Project**

* * *

 **Chpt 12: Basashi Commotion Pt. 1**

 **May 10, 2010**

 **Hana's POV**

Tatara was still obsessed with his video recording. Every time I came down to the bar to read or help out, he would hover over my shoulder. Today, he pissed me off, so I grabbed the camera and decided to record him in return.

I lowered my voice, ran my hand through my hair, and twisted my face into an annoyingly happy expression to mimic Tatara, "May 10th, 17:30. The weather has been great lately. It's cloudy with a chance of everything turning out just fine."

"Hana-chan~ give it back!" Tatara tried to corner me, but I ran for cover behind a table.

"What's this? Tatara is too slow to catch up to me?" If he tried to circle around the table clockwise, I would also circle around the table clockwise. If he went counterclockwise, I did the same.

"Sucker~" I stuck my tongue out at him.

The went on for about 5 minutes until Kosuke and Anna walked into the bar. They had been out for errands and just got back.

"Izumo." Anna sounded like she wanted something.

Izumo, Tatara, and I were the only ones in the bar so when we heard Anna's voice we all turned towards her.

Except for Tatara, he took that opportunity to get back his precious camera by glomping me from behind.

What?! I was distracted okay.

Tatara had come up from behind me, so he had his arms around me with his elbows resting on my shoulders. The camera that was once in my hands, was now in his.

"You're heavy." I murmured to him as he decided to stay in that position. I was flustered and would've thrown him off of me, but was caught off guard.

Ignoring us, Izumo asked the Anna, "What's the matter?"

"Can we keep it?" Anna had the pwetty-pwease face on.

Izumo sweat dropped, "What is it this time? You're not going to tell me that it's a human again, right?"

Kosuke responded this time, "No…. it's not a human…"

"No?" Izumo sounded doubtful.

Anna's eyes sparked as she used her puppy dog eyes on Izumo.

Before he caved, he tried to get us on his side, "... you say something too."

"It's fine, isn't it? I'll look after it too." The hazel-eyed clansman responded.

"Hehe you know I love animals Izumo." A grin split across my face. I've always loved animals and I always will.

Izumo sighed, "Oh well, if it's just one or two cats or dogs."

The front door creaked open and there stood... a horse.

"I LOVE HORSES!" I whisper yelled as I dropped to the ground in a crouch to get out from under Tatara's arms. Then I bolted upright as I slowly walked towards the brown-haired horse, my right palm face up.

Since Tatara was leaning his weight on me, he collapsed onto his butt when I escaped from under him. He seemed dazed but was okay. I ignored him, because, duh, a beautiful horse was in front of me.

There are several rules that must be followed when being around horses. They've been drilled into me since I was ten, which was when I got my first horse. Now that I think about it, ironically his name was Red. He was a sweetie, the nicest horse you could ever have and was a cutie pie.

Anyways, 1) never yell around horses, they get spooked easily; 2) don't run towards/around horses or they may rear up and hit you with their front hooves; 3) never go directly behind a horse, you always have to have your hand traveling on the horse's fur so they're aware you're behind them; 4) respect them, they can tell if you're being disrespectful or scared of him/her and will in turn become scared and retaliate in self-defense. They're 2,000 pounds of pure muscle so don't piss them off.

Ah wait, we're in the middle of red clansmen territory… the absolute best place to freak a horse out and cause serious damage.

The horse Anna and Kosuke brought in seemed to be a quarter horse, but with a few Arabian traits like the height and the slight curve of the neck.

He had an intelligent gleam in his eye. I nodded to him as he inhaled my scent and then blew out through his large nostrils, nudging his head into my hand. A silly grin broke onto my face because that was a sign that he trusted me.

"WAIT A SECOND! A HORSE?!"

"SHHHHH don't yell Kusanagi-san, you'll spook him." The horse's eyes has widened and his ears were flipping back and forth. If he pinned his ears back flat that would mean he is going to a) bite you, b) kick you with the hooves that can easily crush bones, c) or buck (if there was a rider on him that rider would go flying a few dozen feet).

He whisper yelled, "WE CAN'T KEEP A HORSE! PUT IT BACK WHERE IT BELONGS!"

"But you said that it was fine…." Anna teared up.

"That's true… you can't go back on your word." I gave the brown-haired beauty's nose a rub.

Izumo faced away, exasperated that he had been tricked by that as permission that we could keep the horse for a bit, Anna ran towards the horse with her little chibi arms up in the air, "What should we name it?"

She seemed super excited, but I wanted to make sure everyone was safe. I stepped in front of Anna and placed a hand on her shoulder, "Never run towards a horse. They spook easily alright? And no yelling, it'll scare them."

"Un." She nodded her head, but didn't seem to hear what I said. However, she did walk up to the horse after that, so good enough. I doubt the horse would hurt Anna though.

Every animal has a personality and this horse definitely disliked arrogant people with short tempers, but absolutely adored girls. Hm, he's a gelding.

He won't be as wild as a stallion, but geldings can still be scary when mad. The gelding snorted into Anna's hair looking for food.

"Before we name it, we should feed it first." Kosuke could tell the signs of a hungry animal.

"Him. This guy here is a gelding."

"What's a gelding?" Anna asked, eyes sparkling at hearing more information about the horse.

"Uhhhhhh," I hesitated, wondering how to explain that humans castrate horses to make them more tame. A male horse that's not castrated is a stallion and a castrated one is a gelding. "It just means that your horse is male and is a very nice horse."

I cringed, and Tatara laughed at me. Getting mad, I threw the book I had in my hands earlier at him. (I always have a book in my hands, or on my person because I love reading).

"Ite!"

"How do you know so much about horses?" Izumo seemed confused at my knowledge.

"Oh, I didn't tell you guys? I grew up on a ranch. I had some horses, sheep, 3 dogs, and 2 cats. I used to compete in horseback riding tournaments." I laughed as the hungry horse tried to nibble on my hair. "Don't eat my hair."

That was what my dad's horse liked to do. She was a rescue horse and was abandoned, which is horrible because she had the sweetest personality. At least sweeter than my arrogant horse named Shadow who liked to bully the other animals on the ranch.

Despite the fact that my dad is a doctor, he and I both loved animals so we moved onto a ranch in middle school. My two brothers grumbled the entire time because they disliked anything "dirty." They would rather stay inside and play video games all day and night if they could.

We brought the horse in and rummaged through the fridge to find some carrots.

I showed Anna, Kosuke, and Tatara how to hand feed a horse, because you could have your fingers accidentally bitten off. I've been bitten by several horses before, straight to the finger bone when I didn't hold the food properly.

"Here, hold your hand flat. And place the food flat on your hand. This way, when the horse bites down on the food, he won't be able to get a grip on your hand or fingers and bite down. But if it's something long like a carrot, if you hold it at the bottom then he'll snap the food from the top and work his way down. When he gets to the last part of the carrot, use the first method I showed you and keep your hand flat." I held Anna's small hands in mine as I showed her how to feed the still-unnamed horse.

"Izumo, could you please grab that wash tub we keep in the back? It should be clean enough to fill with water and use as a water trough. I'll check the horse and make sure he's uninjured."

As the horse was happily munching on the snacks fed to him, I ran my hands through his fur, looking for horsefly bites or any sort of lacerations. I checked his hooves, seeing that they were well taken care of. He definitely had an owner and is not wild.

Running my hand down one of his hind legs, I clicked my tongue and pinched the ankle of his leg to tell him to raise his foot. He obediently shifted his weight to his other 3 legs and raised his left hind leg. I picked it up and placed it on top of my left knee. My legs were slightly bent as if I was half way through a squat. I faced the horse's tail, meaning that my back was towards where Kosuke and Anna were feeding the horse.

Even though my hair fell into my eyes as I leaned over to check the frog of the hoof (the sensitive part) and ran my fingers over the rest to check for rocks, it seemed like he was perfectly fine. I did the same procedure to the rest of his hooves.

Satisfied, we all washed our hands and sat down as Izumo set the makeshift horse trough on the bar table.

As we all settled, Anna pulled out a naming pad to begin the process of figuring out a name for the horse. However, it wasn't long after that we heard someone coming down the stairs. The only person who would sleep until 4:30 PM is…. Mikoto. Of course.

He yawned and made his way towards the bar with his eyes tightly shut. His spiky red hair stuck up in the wildest directions. Anyways, it seemed like he had a headache or was hung over since he clutched his head in his hand as he made his way to the bar.

"My head hurts… Water…" Mikoto muttered. I could barely contain the large grin slowly spreading across my face when he sat down in his normal seat…. which was right next to the horse.

Then I burst out laughing when I saw his surprised face as he noticed the horse drinking at the bar.

"Why did a horse end up here?"

A few seats over, Izumo had his glass clutched in his hand as he went on a ramble, "That question aside, how? Where did they get the idea to pick up a horse.. Do we only have idiots here?"

Tatara tried to console Izumo, "Now, now. Isn't it a good horse? See, it has pretty nice fur."

Anna walked up to Mikoto with her naming pad, her puppy dog mode was on, "Mikoto! Name it!"

Mikoto stared at the horse for a moment before replying, "Basashi."

Everyone froze, even the horse. Basashi is a Japanese dish of sliced raw… horsemeat.

Even Tatara was amused, "What a sharp sense."

Izumo also seemed to like the idea, "Roast, thigh, and fillet. All parts in a complete set. Today's a feast."

I had noticed this earlier, and I remembered this chapter from the manga. But decided to keep quiet. Mikoto noticed "it" too.

"By the way, that horse… is not a normal horse."

Suddenly, the horse sprouted wings and his mane and fur turned white. I wonder how that's even possible. That's what confuses me about some of these powers. The horse has the ability to… seemingly understand human speech… and grow wings and turn white. To modify its own genes on command.

I'm a scientist, or well, was a bio/pre-health major so I loved to know the why of things.

"Animal strains exist?!" Izumo apparently had never met one before.

"It's so pretty…"

Mikoto's stomach growled. Loudly.

"King? Did you seriously just look at it as basashi?"

The gang tried to convince Anna to let it fly away. Mainly because they didn't want to deal with keeping a horse.

Like always, I ignored them when they were being idiots. "Guys, it's alright. If we decide to keep him, I know how to take care of him. Even if he's a strain, he's still a cutie. But what if he already has an owner?"

"Do you have a place you want to go?" Anna asked Basashi.

Perceptive Anna, very perceptive.

In agreement, Basashi lifted his head and beat his wings.

The commotion he made knocked over a few tables and broke the glasses and table settings.

Izumo began to silently shake in rage so everyone made a run for it.

"Anna! Hana! Let's go for a walk!"

* * *

After we got Basashi out of the bar and he returned to his normal color, I kneeled down and placed my hands facing upwards on my knee. "Here, Anna. I'll give you a push up. Place your left foot on my knee, grab onto that part of the mane, and swing your right leg around."

After Anna mounted Basashi, I made a loop by tying the rope they had attached to his bridle onto the other side of the bridle. This created makeshifts reins.

Anna held the reins as I swung onto Basashi's back. Anna's small enough so both of us fit easily on Basashi's back despite there being no saddle.

She was snugly between my arms as I held the reins in my hands. Just to be safe, Kosuke had one hand on the side of the reins as we walked.

Anna is adorable. Although she had probably sat on top of Mikoto's shoulders before, there was something serene about sitting on top of a horse. I've always loved how you see things from a different perspective. Our hair blew in the wind, and I was slightly worried that we didn't have helmets. But I trusted Basashi and my own horseback riding experiences. If Basashi bucked or took off in a dash in fright, I know how to keep Anna safe.

It was just the six of us on the walk, the rest stayed back to help Izumo clean up Basashi's mess.

Me, Anna, Kosuke, Kamamoto, and Basashi.

Eric had been tailing us for a few minutes before Kamamoto finally noticed him and called him out.

We had been talking about if Basashi could fly since he had wings, when three men dressed in royal blue uniforms interrupted our exchange.

"Found you, strain!"

 **A/N: Shoutout to DanTra12, sora2718, vanessaforeverflower, Adamantia13, QueenOfEpic, cookiepandaluv, Yuuki-Hime 2097, and tempestmind for the fav/follow!**

 **Also, huge thanks to Lau (guest), Kikikitsune18, and YuriCrystalMoonlight for the reviews! I love hearing back from you guys.**


	13. Basashi Commotion Pt 2

Chpt 13: Basashi Commotion Pt. 2

 **A/N: I'M ALIVE. Just finished finals and holy shizniggits they were difficult. Had my Chemistry and Biology finals back to back, college is great. Now I'm applying for a certain medical grad school, taking the medical admissions exam, and taking Organic Chemistry this summer. So again, I'll try to get this finished! Fingers crossed! But I promise I won't abandon this story, no matter what I'll write the ending. I've already written the general plot line that this will follow, I just need to make time to finish it. Next chapter will come sometime this week or next week!**

* * *

" _Those hardest to love need it most_

 _I watched our bodies turn to ghosts_

 _Such good friends, it has to end it always does_

 _That's the way life is_

 _Do we take that risk?"_

-"Fools" by Lauren Aquilina

* * *

May 10, 2010

The two blue clansmen that appeared demanded the horse to be returned. They were flashy, loud, and annoying. I sighed internally, I knew that Basashi was not going to like them and was prepared in case he spooked.

"That one over there is the fiendish strain who ran away from SCEPTER4!" Doumyouji, the one with a large horseshoe print on his face, exclaimed.

The red clansmen were confused, asking if the horse was the "fiendish" strain the blue clansmen were referring to.

"This child says it dislikes that person. He neglected human rights, it says." Anna translated for us.

"10 points to Griffindor!" I exclaimed.

Blank stares.

"No? Nothing? It's a story about… nevermind, I'll read it to you later Anna."

Harry Potter is great, I grew up on those books.

Anna is kind of like Harry. They both lost their parents to evil (Anna's parents were killed by Michuhi, the evil dude from the first few chapters), was taken in by family members (although Harry got the short end of the stick with his evil cousins and Anna got us), and gained "magical" powers that were already inherent to them.

"Haa? Does a horse have human rights?" One of the Blues argued.

 _Yes idiot, they're smarter than you. Just because you're not intelligent enough to understand what they're saying doesn't mean animals are lesser beings than humans._

Without hesitation, Anna said, "I won't hand it to those who don't take good care of things."

"If Anna had said so, then we have no reason to hand it over to the blues or the likes right?" Rikio finished his taiyaki and activated his red aura.

"You heard it, didn't you? We've received interference from the red hooligans." Doumyouji justified to Akiyama. Doumyouji and Akiyama both unsheathed their swords and declared that they were ready for battle.

 _Finally, things are going to get interesting._ I smiled to myself and held on tight to Anna. These idiots don't know how to behave around a horse and we'll see what happens next. I loosened the reins and gave Basashi some extra leeway to do what he needed to do.

Almost reading my mind, Basashi reared up in response to the loud noises and the boring conversation. Then he took off in a sprint.

"Anna! Hold on tight!" I exclaimed while my face split into a wide grin.

Anna grabbed onto Basashi's mane while I made sure she didn't fall off.

Anna seemed to finally understand what Basashi wanted to do. "You're going?"

* * *

 **Back at HOMRA.**

Izumo's phone went off.

"Moshi moshi?" Izumo answered. "Oh, its Kamamoto. Where are you guys now?"

Rikio said something that was too muffled by the noise in the bar.

"Oi! Be quiet, I'm on the phone! Wait… eh?" The phone call ended.

"Kusanagi-san?" Tatara asked.

"It seems that Basashi ran wild while Anna and Hana were sitting on its back."

* * *

 **At SCEPTER4.**

Lieutenant Awashimi answered the phone and listened intently with her eyebrows creased. "Understood. Begin a chase immediately."

She reported to Reisei, "The horse in question was found in Shizume Town. However, it seems to have gotten away. Besides, there's two girls from the red clan who ride on its back. In order to retrieve the girls, it seems that the red clan is also on the move."

"I see, troublesome guys as usual, aren't they?" Reisei responded as he placed a puzzle piece into its place.

* * *

 **Back with Hana and Anna.**

Both the red clan and blue clan chased after the horse strain, but whenever they attempted to confront him, the horse would rear up and smash their faces in with his hoof.

As the chase continued, Basashi transformed into his flightless pegasus form in order to run faster.

Eventually, it seemed like the red clan had teamed up with the blue clan and traveled in their car.

A Blues' car approached us and when the window rolled down, Izumo had his arm outstretched. "Hey, are you alright?"

"Why? The Blues' car…?" Anna asked.

"We're on a momentary common front. Hold onto me and come over here."

Anna pouted, "This child has a place to go to. It has someone who it wants to meet with. I'm sorry."

"Hana! Stop being irresponsible! Get it to stop!" Izumo tried to reason with me.

"Never!" I exclaimed to be dramatic.

With that, Basashi leapt off of the highway and down to the street below.

The Blues' car stopped and Awashima expressed her disappointment in Izumo. (Harsh!)

As the Blues and Reds argued over whose fault it was that the strain got away, Tatara laughed.

Tatara assured everyone, "It's fine, isn't it? Just let her be."

"Haa?"

"She seems to be looking alright. And besides, since Anna, who usually doesn't say selfish things, insisted like that it'll be fine, right? She also has Hana by her side and Hana would never let Anna get hurt."

* * *

Basashi continued running towards a specific destination for a few minutes before he was startled into a stop.

 _Guess the jig's up._ Hana pouted.

Mikoto stood in front of us.

Anna had a panicked face as if she was going to get in trouble, "Mikoto…"

"Don't cause us any more trouble. You too, Hana."

As Mikoto approached Basashi, Basashi slowly backed up until Mikoto grabbed his halter.

"Mikoto, listen…" Anna tried to justify herself.

"So, what do you want to do with it?" Mikoto asked.

"I want to let it go where it wants to go." Anna blushed.

Mikoto sighed and walked with us as the rest of the clan joined us.

When we arrived at a chapel next to a farm, Mikoto was a little bewildered. "What?"

Anna explained, "This is the ranch it was at before. That bride had been taking care of it all this time, Basashi says."

They leaned against the short wooden fence as they watched the bride and groom exit the chapel doors. Flowers surrounded them and the bride had the brightest smile on her face.

"So it wanted to come back to her?"

"No. Because she's marrying, it wanted to see her in that state. It's not longer needed in that place, and I think it's… because it's a strain."

 _Those words hit a little too close to home. Anna… you're wonderful and we will always love you. I know you weren't referring to me, but was I brought here because I was no longer needed at home? In my universe? Am I that worthless?_

I placed a warm hand on Anna's head before I silently got off of Basashi. Once I hit the ground, I immediately walked towards the grove of trees. I needed some time to myself.

"Hana..?" Anna called out but I ignored her and kept walking.

While I walked away, Mikoto pulled Anna off Basashi's back, "You're satisfied now, aren't you?"

Concerned about Hana though, Anna stared at her feet.

"Don't worry about Hana-chan, I'll go after her." Tatara reassured Anna whose face brightened up.

Tatara walked off in Hana's direction as Seri renamed Basashi, "White Bean Paste Stewed Tofu."

* * *

I stepped into the forest and leaned against a tree.

I sighed and closed my eyes, "I know you're there Tatara."

Tatara stepped out from behind another tree and rubbed his neck sheepishly. "Ahh, I was that obvious, wasn't I."

"Hm."

He leaned up against the same tree, his right arm touched my left arm. I leaned my head against his right shoulder and sighed again.

"Didn't you once say that every time you sigh, a little bit of happiness escapes?"

"I know, I'm just… I'm just a little sad right now. I miss everyone."

"But we're all here with you."

I shook my head. "It's not the same. It's that feeling as if the whole world is against you. I lived my life trying to make other people happy, and now that those people aren't there anymore I don't know what to do."

"Would you… would you go back if you could?"

I stared up into the trees and listened to the birds chirping at each other. Sunlight filtered through the green leaves and specks of dust floated in the air.

"I don't know." I murmured.

Tatara leaned his head on mine in comfort. "We would miss you."

 **S/O to _Sandelly, midnightstorm111, Luna loves u, Nameless Angel 00,_ _Wolfly2494, SummerBum95, kayleneee,_ for the fav/follow!**

 **Thank you to _Kikikitsune18 and Lau (Guest)_ for the reviews!**

 **All of you help keep me motivated to keep writing. Not that I would abandon this story but it's sometimes difficult to make time for it. But knowing you guys are out there and enjoying something I've created makes me happy. :3**


	14. Crack in the Glass Ceiling

Chpt 14: Crack in the Glass Ceiling

 **A/N: Shoutout to Mental Health Awareness Month. I also suffered from some mental issues so I understand how devastating it can be. It'll impact your life in small ways that gradually start to build up. Whether it's anxiety, depression, trauma, or anything else, it's okay to feel that way. The hardest part is getting help. Sometimes it's scary talking to friends, especially if you're the person everyone relies on. You're the one who's supposed to be strong, responsible, resilient, and fearless. But you're just as scared as them. I realized something was wrong when I would start getting anxiety attacks to the point of fainting. I just wish I got help sooner. I'm lucky that my university offers free counseling and honestly it was one of the best decisions I've ever made. It's okay to not be okay, please seek help if you need it.**

 **Warning: This chapter does contain some self-reflection and mentions of anxiety. If it gets boring, read the next chapter (which is why I posted this one and chpt 15 together). But if you feel like reading it, I would appreciate it.**

Location: Remote Mountain Village

July 2010

With the warming months, the humidity and temperature in central Japan escalated.

After the events of the Basashi Commotion, I decided to take a break. I needed some time for myself. I needed to gather my thoughts and choose my path in life. There's still about a year and a half left until the new Colorless King emerges.

Right now, my mental state is in shambles and even when I'm surrounded by the Red Clan I feel so lonely. They're wonderful people. Tatara, Mikoto, Anna, and even the stupid Misaki. But this is only temporary.

If I don't trust or love myself, how can I let anyone else in? I can't truly accept anyone until I've resolved my own feelings.

Either I'll lose my life fighting the evil Colorless King or I'll be returned to my universe when I finish my task: restoring this world's order. But what about me? My personal feelings?

I'm not a robot, Dresden Rex can't expect me to be perfect. I don't understand how the Dresden Plate's consciousness can have so much confidence in a person like me when I don't even have any confidence in myself.

And so, I decided to go on a medical retreat to a small mountain village. I arrived via helicopter and have been living here for the past two months.

It was a quiet neighborhood. Farmland surrounded us on all sides as the rickety wooden houses creaked whenever a strong wind blew by. It reminded me of home.

I grew up on a ranch, living with the animals, sitting up late at night in the treehouse, and screaming while throwing shoes at large bugs. Fun times, except for the bugs.

It wasn't long before I became the local doctor. There were no doctors in the area, and although technology was pretty advanced, it was still difficult to reach the remote village. Most couldn't afford to helicopter in a doctor from a nearby town.

I didn't really care much about money. I had built myself a small treehouse in the nearby woods and in exchange for treatment, received some yummy snacks.

I met Ichigen Miwa, the Colorless King, when I was treating one of the villagers. He had foreseen my arrival and invited me to stay with him.

It wasn't a difficult choice. Although I enjoy the outdoors, it was mid-July so it was nice to live in an actual house, with a bed and… plumbing.

Ichigen introduced me to Kuroh, who was wary of a stranger in his home. He was cute, it seems like there's not a lot of girls his age in the village. His reactions remind me of Misaki's. He should be around 16 or 17 at this time point, only a few years younger than me.

We're gonna get along just fine.

* * *

Without telling Ichigen, it seemed like he was already aware of my dilemma.

"Great is the concern; laid upon a decision; which cannot be shared." Ichigen handed me a cup of tea as he sat on the zabuton (Japanese seat cushion) next to me.

"Haaaa." I took a sip of the green tea. "You and your haikus, Ichigen-san."

"Interpret it how you will, but there is no denying something is on your mind."

"You've foreseen the future. Or is it just a big ball of timey wimey, wibbly wobbly stuff?"

"Hm..?"

I shook my head, "nevermind, it's an inside joke."

"Foreseeing the future isn't everything. Each result, each outcome, comes from the decisions and actions of every person. I learned long ago, when I first became the 7th King, that revealing the future often comes at a price."

"Funny thing is, is that I'm not asking about the possible future. I know what the future is. I know what is going to happen, every phrase, every death up to a certain point in time." I stared into the depths of the green tea, gazing at the bottom of the cup.

"Do not judge the cold. Without first knowing the warmth of the sun."

"So you're saying to not jump to conclusions." I smiled into my cup, "yeah, I tend to do that often. Always overthinking things."

"Walk casually down the path that you have chosen. The path to your dreams." Ichigen tipped his old man hat forward before he stood up.

I could see the pain in his joints, and his heavy breathing. His illness was taking a toll on him. In his fifty-some years of life, he's been suffering from it for most.

This is the illness that will take his life sometime this year or the next.

"I could do it!" I exclaimed before he exited the room. "I could heal you. Your sickness. I could prevent all of this from even beginning." If Ichigen doesn't pass away, then the new Colorless King will never be crowned.

"You have a kind heart, and an open soul. Always willing to bend the rules for those you are close with. But sometimes, sometimes life is more precious when you need it the most." The door slid shut behind him.

Five seconds later. "Wait, _what?_ "

* * *

The sun sat on the horizon, weeping colors of red, orange, and pink to all corners of the sky.

Kuroh and I sat on a rock overlooking the village, we spent a lot of time together sitting and observing the world around us. We became fast friends, it seemed like I was the only one even remotely close to his age group. Other than his friend, the one who was Ichigen's other student. He apparently was out on a journey for the past few months, which is why I had yet to meet him.

Sometimes we talked, sometimes we were silent, but this time an old song popped into my head. It was one my closest friend, my sister at heart, introduced to me.

I began to tap a beat with my foot. Looking towards the clouds swirling above us, my mouth parted:

 _"I just want the world to have one more_  
 _C'mon crooked stars don't you want to line up?_  
 _I think I found a crack in the glass ceiling,_  
 _Gonna break it down with this steel pipe dream._  
 _Gonna break it down..._

 _I am an astronaut._  
 _A renegade._  
 _Tearing through the dark on a new wave._  
 _It's ride or die since I know_  
 _I'm gonna burn it up, up, up ohhh._  
 _I am the underdog, team juggernaut,_  
 _Drinking in line to catch a bus._  
 _It's ride or die since I know_  
 _I'm gonna burn it up, up, up ohhh."_

My voice trailed off as our silence was filled in with the chirps of birds, humming of bugs, and rustling of leaves.

"Dandelions, at one's feet, beauties." Ichigen's voice sounded from a small voice recorder. The recorder was clutched in Kuroh's hands as the patch of wild flowers by our feet swayed in the wind.

"Haha, how many recordings do you have on there?" I gave a small laugh, wiping at my eyes with the back of my hand.

Kuroh's eyes sparkled and his cheeks tinged pink, "IF YOU PAY ATTENTION YOU'LL NOTICE THE BEAUTY OF THESE FLOWERS THAT ARE CALLED WEEDS THAT BLOOM IN FRONT OF YOUR FEET; THIS HAIKU MEANS IF YOU KEEP AN EYE ON ALL KINDS OF EVERYDAY PLACES THEN YOU'LL DISCOVER WONDERFUL THINGS THERE. IF YOU SEEK DIRECTION FROM ICHIGEN-SAMA'S OBSERVING EYE THEN HE'LL EXPRESS WITH TENDER WORDS THE TRUTH THAT REALLY IMPORTANT THINGS EXIST IN ORDINARY FORMS RIGHT BY YOUR SIDE. ISN'T TRUE BEAUTY THE STRENGTH AND LOVELINESS OF STANDING DIGNIFIED AT A PLACE WHERE YOU COULD CARELESSLY STEP ON THEM?"

He ended the explanation with a dramatic pose, one hand on his chest and the other outstretched before him, palm-side facing the sky.

"Okay, okay Kuroh, don't forget to breathe."

 _He's still a kid_. I ruffled his hair.

* * *

 _It has been a long two and a half months of self-reflection,_ I mused as I packed my bags. It's time to go back and remind myself that instead of resisting the person who limits me the most, to accept them. To accept myself.

Accepting my faults, my failures, and my worth. It took me a while, but I was finally able to confront the voice in my head that is stuck there like a broken record. _You're not good enough. You're not good enough. You'll never be good enough._

By no means have I solved it or even gotten rid of it, because it's a part of who I am. All I can do is gently remind myself that I'm good enough for me. It doesn't matter if I'm not good enough for anyone else, because the only person who is stuck with me 24/7 is myself.

I always thought that there was a simple and quick method to curing anxiety or other mental issues. That it was as simple as snapping your fingers.

It's all in your head, right?

No.

It's not. You're important, you always are and always will be. Even if things sometimes don't go your way, or it seems like it never does, "failing," is not really failure. How can you ever experience happiness if you've never once been sad?

Those who have earned happiness through multiple "failures," are often the ones who treasure it the most.

"Failures," are in quotes because failure is never really failure. It may be a wayward stone in your neatly carved path. It might be a small, or giant, mistake you've made. It could be a lost friendship, a broken heart, or a stutter during a public speech.

There is no light without darkness, and no darkness without light. When one door closes, 2 doors open. And there's always the window, who ever said you have to be conventional?

There is always a balance. Sometimes, we tend to focus on the darkness and ignore the light. It doesn't mean all the good in your life is gone, sometimes it just means we have to look at our lives in a different perspective.

Funny thing is, is I've always known this. Ever since I was young, I knew that I couldn't always be happy and that things wouldn't always be easy.

And yet, when life throws shit at you, you can either stand there and let it pile up until it completely consumes you. Or you can wash your clothes, step out of the way, and start a composting heap.

Just because one choice is obvious, does not mean it is EASY to make.

Support systems are integral, and I had pushed mine away. Fled because I couldn't handle the pressure.

The pressure had consumed me to the point that I wanted to crawl out of my skin and hide. Hide my weaknesses and vulnerabilities.

With hardened, determined eyes, I made my choice. My voice rung out into the empty room. "I am the sum of my own choices, and I belong to me."

 **S/O to** _ **Alice-okaami and Ink Scribble**_ **for the fav/follow!**

 **Thanks** _ **Lau (Guest), Ink Scribble, Kikikitsune18**_ **for the reviews!**

 **Song: "Astronaut" by Transviolet**


	15. King Again

**Chpt 15: King Again**

* * *

 _"You lost your mind in the sound_

 _There's so much more, you can reclaim your crown_

 _You're in control_

 _Rid of the monsters inside your head_

 _Put all your faults to bed_

 _You can be King again."_

-"King" by Lauren Aquilina

* * *

August 13, 2010

Mikoto's 22nd birthday.

He's so young and yet, at the age of 24, Tatara will be murdered, and he'll die avenging his best friend.

I slammed the HOMRA bar doors open, yelling out, "HAPPY BIRTHDAY!"

Half of the boys in the room startled and got into a fighting position, thinking that it was an ambush.

The other half rolled their eyes at my antics, but also yelled out, "Hana!"

"Where have you been, punk?!" I heard someone shout.

"None of your damn business!"

"Hana?" A soft voice calls out next to the sleeping figure on the couch.

Damn, of course. It's his birthday and he's spending it sleeping on that damn couch of his. Stupid Mikoto.

I dropped everything I was carrying and ran over to Anna, "Anna-chan!"

"You smell like cows." Anna murmured after I gave her a giant hug.

"Ha." I ruffled her head, "How do you even know what cows smell like?"

"The boys took me out. We went to a zoo a few weeks ago."

"That so sweet! Tell me all about it, even the parts when the boys got in trouble."

"...How did you know?"

"I always know."

I greeted everyone, laughing and smiling. It feels good to be back.

Bantering with Izumo, flirting with Tatara, and teasing Misaki. Anna and I even got our girl time.

We spent most of the afternoon talking, and then we held a small party with just the core members of HOMRA to celebrate Mikoto's birthday.

Although the party lasted long into the night, Mikoto headed up into his room earlier.

No matter how much he slept, it seemed like he was still exhausted.

It wasn't until Tatara confirmed my suspicions that I knew it was time.

* * *

"How is Mikoto?" I leaned over into Tatara as we both watched Mikoto make his way up the wooden stairs.

We both had drinks in our hands, mine of course was non-alcoholic. There was something important happening and I needed to be sober for it.

Tatara glanced around us, and seeing the rest of the members preoccupied or drunk, he lowered his voice, "I don't know, Hana."

His breath ghosted over my cheek as he had leaned in to whisper Mikoto's condition. Tatara's long, pale fingers brushed up against a tuft of my pink hair, pushing it out of the way.

I stared into his hazel eyes, clear and unwavering, and yet there was an unmistakable hint of concern and sadness. Mikoto was not one to share his feelings or problems openly. He always blazed on, head first when confronting delicate matters. Tatara and Izumo are able to figure out his troubles because they have been his closest friends for a long time, even before he gained his King powers.

The ever-optimistic Tatara was showing concern.

My voice was barely a whisper, "Is… is he okay?"

Soft brown hair shook from side to side, "It's these nightmares. They've been… they've been bad." This was really unlike Tatara, from the very core of his being he always believed in things working out. "Haaa… I'm just unnecessarily worrying... There's probably nothing to be afraid of." Ah that's more like the Tatara I know.

Tatara has always spoken from his heart. He doesn't tell meaningless lies to make other people feel better. If he truly believes everything will turn out alright, then he conveys that message. But something's wrong. I think I changed some of the timeline. The nightmares don't happen until after Tatara is killed.

It seems like I've been gone for too long. Every time I visited HOMRA, I did my best to alleviate the burden of the Sanctum. I didn't want anyone to worry, so I would discreetly heal Mikoto as much as I could. Not even Mikoto knew what I was doing. The power of fire is a double edged sword. Mikoto is free to wield it, but with great power comes great responsibility. It takes a toll on one's body to support such a large and powerful clan. Mikoto isn't really known for his self-control or patience.

My hands trembled slightly, so I grasped the larger, warmer ones to stop the tremors. It's time. Even if I'm not ready to take the risk, if I wait any longer, things will only escalate from here. Still gazing into Tatara's eyes, I replied, "I think I have an idea to help with the nightmares. I'll talk to Mikoto."

I slowly rose from the bar stool. Before I let go of his hands, Tatara grasped mine back and gave them a small squeeze, "Don't stress, things will work out."

I only smiled in return.

* * *

 **Mikoto's Room**

Quiet, low knocks echoed through the silent room.

The silent figure on the couch was completely still except for the periodic rise and fall of its chest.

The door cracked open, "Mikoto?" A soft voice called out into the darkness.

Then the room was bathed in light.

The figure, revealed to be Mikoto lounging on the couch, grunted as brightness filled the room. His feet were propped up on the coffee table and his arm rested on his forehead to shield his eyes from the light.

"Can I come in?" I asked as I was already halfway to Mikoto's couch. It's a bad habit, even though I knock on the door, I open it anyways. I ask to come in, yet I'm already in the room. Not like Mikoto would say anything in response anyways.

"...What do you want." Not an accusation, not a question, just a simple statement.

Knowing Mikoto isn't one to admit to the nightmares plaguing him or the troubles he's having with his own sanctum, I decided on another approach.

I sat down next to him on the couch, leaning back and relaxing.

"An old man once told me, 'A King's powers are not meant for destruction. They exist to protect.'"

"... It was Tatara wasn't it."

"Hehe, maybeeeee."

Mikoto remained silent.

I started, "Your Weismann levels-"

"I know."

"I can help alleviate the burden…" I clenched my hands tightly together. "It's true. What Tatara said…. They exist to protect." I took a deep breath, "Do you trust me?"

Mikoto closed his eyes.

I repeated the question with the same patience and soft tone, "Do you trust me?"

His amber eyes stared unwaveringly into mine. His voice, still gruff from disuse, rang out, "Yes."

"Then here goes nothing." We sit side by side, but to access his head, I crossed my legs over themselves and turned towards him. I reached my hands out to both sides of his head, while I leaned forward until my forehead rested on his.

Everything went dark.

* * *

In the darkness, there were multiple pulses of energy.

That energy. It is reminiscent of the energy that was in the air when I met Dresden a while back. Each Sanctum has a consciousness that's linked to Dresden's consciousness.

Slowly, multiple objects came into focus around me. I was standing on top of the Dresden Plate, not unlike how I first arrived in this universe. Around me were the 7 Kings' Sanctums.

The Red King's looked like the Sword of Damocles was trapped in the center of a volcano. Lava bubbled everywhere, and below the Sword sat a lion made of lava. The lion was sleeping under the Sword, calm and content. Vibrant red flames danced around it as it slept. Yet, as you get farther away from the center of the Sanctum, where the lion is, the edges of the sanctum resembled a blackened field.

The Sanctum is slowly going out of control, tainting everything from the outside in.

My eyes focused again on the Red King's Sword of Damocles. It has an irregular blade that bends near the tip. The cross guard has a red orb in the middle with the guard protruding to the side. The grip has a swirl-like shape. But despite these characteristics, the Sword's state is what caught my attention.

Parts of the guard and the blade were splintering apart, as if it was put under a tremendous amount of pressure. Small pieces of the Sword of Damocles was breaking apart and drifting down towards the lion. Every time a piece of the Sword landed on the sleeping lion, the lion would shake its head and give a small rumble before falling back asleep.

My eyes followed the rope to where it led off into the distance. I stood there for a few moments, unsure where to start. I could "see" my translucent body and it didn't take long until I noticed Dresden's ethereal form materialize beside me.

"It's been a while." I mentioned, "Not since… The Gold King's palace right?"

"That was the last time I materialized in front of you, but I've been watching over you and the people around you this entire time."

"So, what's the plan?" I balanced on the balls of my feet, trying to hide my nervousness.

"Do you see these threads?" Dresden gestured at the seven threads surrounding us that were connected to each King's Sword of Damocles.

Although they were called threads, they resembled rope more so than actual threads.

Each rope had its own distinct quality.

My eyes followed each one until it disappeared, probably connected to its respective king.

"The more frayed the rope becomes, the more dangerous the Sword of Damocles is. The rope is worn out by several factors. A king's power is like fire. The rope is connected to each king, but the less in control of their sanctum they are, the more tension the rope is under. Over time, this leads to the rope weakening and weakening until it snaps. In addition, the more two kings battle, the more damage their rope becomes. That is why only a king can kill another king, but both kings suffer major damages that is reflected in this realm."

"Where do I come in? You said something when I first arrived, that I'm connected to all of the kings."

"Only you can heal the rope. You have the ability to repair and enhance."

"That seems like too much power for one person, what if it had fallen into the wrong hands?"

"Good thing it's in your hands." Dresden placed a warm hand on my shoulder before disappearing.

"Damn it, beating around the bush and not giving me a straight answer. I guess even he doesn't have control over who gets his power. Okay, okay. So he said that I have the ability to repair and enhance. Repair and enhance…" I murmured, pacing in circles.

I looked up towards the threads. The Red King's thread was like a fraying rope. It was in a bad condition, like it could snap at any moment. The Colorless King's is hard to see, like a faint spider thread that is only visible when it catches the light at the right angle. The Silver King's is a pure white thread, delicate and dainty, but looped around into infinity circles before going off into the distance. The Blue King's...

Okay getting distracted, need to get back to healing Mikoto.

I "walk", more like mentally approach, the Red King's dilapidated rope and hesitantly reach my hands toward it. It didn't burn like I thought it would, but as soon as my hands made contact with the thread, it glowed bright red.

My hands begin to glow its normal pink color that appears when I heal people as I tap into Mikoto's sanctum. Slowly, I begin to replenish and strengthen it with my own. I could feel my form pulsing with energy. I was channeling the power of the Dresden Plate like an adaptor connecting a nuclear factory to a car battery.

I had to be careful and avoid channeling too much energy, or not only would I short circuit, but I would completely overwhelm his Sanctum. In addition, as I accepted the Plate's power, I had to expend my own energy to convert it from raw, pure power to a healing element. I would use an analogy about cancer and oncogenes right now, but I have to stay concentrated.

I concentrated on allowing discrete, minute amounts of energy to flow through. It didn't take long before the threadbare rope began to repair itself. Despite the happiness bubbling inside me, I contained my grin because the slightest mistake could result in both of our deaths.

* * *

 **Thirty Minutes Later**

I opened my eyes and shook my head to clear out the blurriness.

When my eyes finally focused, I was staring right into Mikoto's amber eyes. My hands still clasped around his head.

With a pink blush on my face, one that rivaled the color of my hair, I jumped to the opposite end of the couch. Despite my embarrassment at being so close to Mikoto's face, I maintained my professionalism. As a doctor taking care of her patient, I had to keep my composure. "How do you feel? Try accessing your Sanctum."

"Not bad." Mikoto held his hand our in front of him, freely and easily calling up his aura. "It's better."

"Good, because I'm exhausted. That took a lot outta me." I rolled my shoulders to release the tension.

"Don't go becoming an old hag, watch those wrinkles." Mikoto's lips quirked into a smirk.

Guess Mikoto is feeling better too, he's back to bantering with me like normal.

I shook my head to hide my laughter, "I hate you." Smug bastard. "Happy 22nd Birthday, Mikoto."

I left the package with him as I exited the room.

A deep chuckle followed me out of the room. I ignored it as I met with Tatara at the bottom of the stairs.

Innocently placed on top of the table was a bolo tie. Instead of an ostentatious jewel to hold the two ends of the tie together, Hana had chosen a simpler design. There was a metallic pendant in the shape of two "K's" placed back to back that held the two ends of the thin, yet durable red thread together.

(Look up Mikoto's necklace to view an image).

A/N: I hate keeping people on their toes and slowly updating. So what I'm going to do is completely finish this story. Once I'm done I'll post it all within the same week so you guys aren't getting random updates once every few months. **There's about 7-8 chapters left until the finale!** I don't know how you guys will feel about this, but I'm pretty sure this is my plan. Follow me so when I finally finish everything, you'll be notified! I'll try to get it all done… within the next year or two.

Also, as you can see, although Hana has a good relationship with Mikoto, her and Tatara are getting closer! I'm planning on pairing her and Tatara, but again it's not the main focus of this story. Maybe, when I have time in the future, I'll write a new story that focuses on her and Mikoto's relationship more. Maybe even pair them together. But for this one, nahhhh.


	16. Meeting Neko

Chapter 16: Meeting Neko

A/N: Sorry! I couldn't hold back from posting although I said I would completely finish the story before posting everything. Sadly, I have 4 more chapters that are unwritten... but wanted to post this for fun!

* * *

"I was switchin' up the lanes,  
Steppin' out the frame I'm in.  
I was pulling on the reins,  
Sick of all the same happenin'.  
I swear I was, looking for disaster  
Mixed with a bottle of gin.  
And just because I come home after  
Doesn't mean you'll take me in."

 _-Start Again,_ One Republic

* * *

April 20, 2011

It was a warm April night in Ikebukuro.

Two figures stood at the top of a skyscraper, surveying the rest of the city. One of the figures had her long, pink hair tied up in a ponytail. The other figure wore a long, dark green trench coat on top of an old-fashioned white shirt with a ruffled collar. His silver hair was illuminated in the moonlight.

Both seemed to be good friends as they conversed.

"It's different isn't it? The view."

"Yes, quite so. I see now what you meant all those months ago." The man replied.

"I never thought that this would be your first time in.. how long… seventy years… that you would finally visit the ground. What made you change your mind?"

"I was reminded of what it means to exist." He said in a serious tone. Then his face broke out into a smile as his whole body shook, "Just kidding! Maa, Maa, I was bored to death! You kept telling me about all these interesting things and I realized I HAD to come down and check them out for myself. Like katsu chicken!"

"Soooo." The pink-haired lady punched the silver-haired man in the shoulder. "When are you going to see you-know-who?"

The man tucked his head in embarrassment, "Hana, why do you always make it sound like that!"

"Sound like what?" Hana's face was the picture of innocence.

"Stop teasing me."

"I'm just saying that the cherry blossoms this time of year are beautiful. And you never know, Addy, that old man Kokouji-ojii-san probably has his own personal cherry blossom garden."

"It's so weird to hear you call him an ojii-san. I'm older than him, you know?"

"But see, you may be the First and Silver King, but you still have the heart of a seven year old kid."

Addy just had a silly expression on his face, used to Hana's bantering by now.

"MEOWWW!" A distressed hissing noise sounded from below.

The two figures glanced at each other and without a moment's hesitation, jumped down from the thirty story building.

Hana crashed down to the ground, surrounded by a pink aura. Her aura protected her, causing the ground to form a dent as it absorbed the impact rather than her body.

"Cheater." Hana mumbled, stepping out of the mini hole in the ground, completely unharmed.

Addy, utilizing his power over gravity, gently floated down into the dark alleyway. "You could access my powers, you know. You do have access to every King's sanctum." He said in a matter-of-fact tone.

"Haa, that's too much work."

"WHO ARE YOU?! WHERE DID YOU COME FROM?" Two large men demanded from one end of the alleyway. Both seemed shocked and nervous about the man and woman who fell from the sky.

"I'm a pacifist you know?" Addy posed with his head tilted upwards in disinterest.

"Ugh fine, I have to do everything around here don't I." Hana glanced towards the dead end of the alley, the meowing they had heard came from the small cat behind them.

The cat's white hair stood on end, her claws unsheathed, as she hissed at the two yakuza. Even in this dim lighting, Hana glimpsed the cat's heterochromic eyes.

The larger of the two men lost his patience, "Hey! We're from the Inagawa-kai yakuza. Listen to me when I'm talking, bitch!"

"My, what unsightly words." Addy commented.

"You know what." Hana shot Addy an irritated look, "If you start to heckle I'm going to beat your ass."

"Don't get violent on me now. Maybe you've been spending too much time with those red boys of yours." Addy stepped behind Hana, and scooped up the shivering kitten.

The cat gave a slight "meow," as it rubbed its head against Addy's chest.

"Don't interfere with our hunt, you asked for it!" The yakuza member charged at Hana, a Bowie knife drawn and directed at her.

Utilizing her Judo skills, Hana used the yakuza's momentum against him. She stepped to the side, and shoved his outstretched arm in one direction, efficiently fracturing his ulna (a bone in the forearm). "How rude to interrupt a civil conversation. Didn't anyone ever teach you manners?"

To scare the yakuza a bit more, Hana concentrated her aura in her eyes. They glowed bright pink in the dim lighting of the evening.

"D-d-demon!" The man wailed as ran out of the alleyway, clutching his fractured arm. The man's companion, who had been standing frozen at the entrance the entire time, followed the larger man out.

"Well that was too easy." Hana brushed the imaginary lint off of her coat.

"Why do you think they're hunting her?" Addy speculated as he gently calmed the cat down by petting her head.

"You do realize she's a-"

*Poof!*

A naked woman appeared in Addy's arms.

"Wah!"

The woman just blinked owlishly at Addy. Her green and blue eyes stared at him with adoration. Thankfully, her knee-length white hair covered up her important lady bits.

"AHAHAHAAH! Your face, Addy!"

"N-n-naked! She's naked! What do I do?!"

"Neko doesn't like clothes! Neko is Neko." The 'mysterious' naked girl exclaimed as if her reasoning explained everything.

"Hey, Neko. I'm Hana, and that idiot over there with the silly face is Addy." I spoke soothingly, "What if you made it look like you had clothes on? But you actually don't? Wouldn't that be fun?"

She cocked her head sideways for a second.

"I like fun things! Meow!" As she "meowed," a pulse of energy was emitted from her and suddenly, Neko had clothes on. Well, it was a off-white, fleece-like dress that was super short, but good enough.

"See, Addy you integrity is preserved."

"M-my integrity?"

"Yes, well, it must be shocking to see a naked woman for the first time~. Am I right or am I right?"

"N-no, of course not! I've seen naked women before!"

I raised by eyebrow as a passerby looked at Addy as if he was a pervert.

"Hentai~"

"W-w-wait! That's not what I meant! Don't look at me like that!" Addy slumped in defeat.

* * *

"Now Addy, go get us some food. We're starving!" Hana ordered Addy as they sat on top of a three story building. It wasn't as high as they were before, but it gave a nice view of the local neighborhood, specifically of a Family Mart right across the street.

"Where would I get food from?" Addy cocked his head to the side in confusion.

I pointed to the Family Mart, "Over there. Now shoo! Your arm is starting to look tasty."

"Don't be such a savage, I'm heading down…" Addy glanced towards the side of the roof, planning to utilize his powers again.

"Use the stairs like a normal person!"

Addy hmphed as walked towards the stairs.

Hana watched Addy walk down the outdoor stairs and approach the convenience store.

"Hey Neko, I have something for you to hold onto for me until the right time. It'll be like a fun game!"

"But why not Addy? Addy is fun to play with too."

"Well, Addy isn't good at this game. I can only trust you to make sure to win this game."

 _And Addy may be compromised if I don't stop the Colorless King. If things take a turn for the worst and the First King's body is possessed, then I won't be able to trust him to deliver the message._

"I don't understand, but okay! What's the prize? What's the prize? Oooo! Do I get lots of fish?" She asked eagerly, like a child who was bribed with candy.

"Yes, you'll get as much fish as you want, but it's a super hard game. You know what, I don't think you'll be able to win."

Neko pouted. "I will win, let me play, let me play! I'm the best at games! No one can beat me."

"Okay, so listen carefully. Take this letter when…"

* * *

"Hey Neko, do you want to travel with me on my airship?" Addy asked as he munched on a katsu chicken sandwich.

"You mean I can see more pretty things from above?" Neko tilted her head in confusion.

"If you want to." Addy glanced at the ground, nervous that his newfound friend would reject him.

"YES! I'm Addy's Neko, I'll go where you go!" Neko jumped up and down in pure joy. She hung onto Addy's arm.

It's a bit weird to see Neko hanging off of Addy's arm, on his original body. Addy attempted to save his food as it slipped out of his hand. I think I was so used to imagining the First and Silver King in Yashiro Isana's body.

Well we don't even know if that body's name is Yashiro Isana, because that was the name Neko gave him when he crashed down into Ashinaka High School.

"So, what are your plans?"

"Maybe I'll be a lifeguard. I've always wanted to work at the beach. Sayonara for now."

 **S/O to** _ **laga2120**_ _ **,**_ _ **DragonQueen1317,**_ **and** _ **belliris**_ **for the fav/follow!**

 **Thank you to Lau** **for the review! You're welcome for the chapters, and I decided to not hold back!**

 **I am posting it as I write it, because I'm restless and love to hear your input. Maybe I might even add a few details if you guys have any ideas of what you want to see. The main plot will stay as it is, but I don't mind putting in a small something here and there.**


	17. Lifeguard on Duty

Chapter 17: Lifeguard on Duty

"Fire on fire would normally kill us  
With this much desire, together, we're winners  
They say that we're out of control and some say we're sinners  
But don't let them ruin our beautiful rhythms  
'Cause when you unfold me and tell me you love me  
And look in my eyes.  
You are perfection, my only direction  
It's fire on fire,  
It's fire on fire."  
-Fire on Fire by Sam Smith

July 25, 2011

Although it is exhaustingly hot on the beach, with the sun beating down mercilessly, there is a group that is not affected by the heat at all.

A little girl with white hair could be seen sitting near the waves, making a sand lump. She pushed the grains of sand together, but it didn't seem to be getting any taller, only wider. Sort of puzzled, she continued to attempt to build a castle.

As Tatara and Izumo watch their princess playing in the sand, Izumo comments, "It's days like these where it'd be good if you had a camera."

"Hm?" Tatara smiled, "It's fine, it's fine. The heart's camera will take perfect pictures!"

A few days ago, Mikoto and Anna had been out and about while Tatara and the rest of the group were helping a local fisherman. Hana liked to tease them that it was a "date" and watch Anna blush and hide her face. It was adorable!

During the "date," it seemed like the film got stuck and by accident, Mikoto broke it.

The rest of HOMRA wasn't as laid-back as Tatara and Izumo.

Tatara and Izumo's conversation was interrupted by Shohei, who was beyond excited, "IT'S THE SEA! We've finally come this year!" His eyes sparkled not because he was fascinated with the sea… but because beaches meant cute girls.

Hearing Shohei, Tatara hesitated. "Rather, for all of us to gather like this in public is kinda…"

Izumo agreed, "That's true… coming to the beach with a bunch of rowdy boys that all have the same tattoo will make people wonder…"

On the other hand, Shohei and Bando were still hyped up. "YES! Time to get some chicks, some chicks!"

"You… that's all you think about?" Masaomi, with his derby hat and sunglasses, deadpanned.

"Last year, due to Kamamoto, the whole summer went to waste. I have to make up for it this year!"

He was referencing the time when Kamamoto lost a few dozen pounds and attracted too many girls. The boys ended up wasting their entire summer trying to fatten him back up.

Shohei tried to get Izumo to pick up some girls with him, "Kusanagi-san! Let's go!"

"Ahaha." Izumo chuckled a bit, "Ah, I'm fine… At this age I can't be that direct." He talked as if he was an old man, but in reality Izumo is only 25 years old.

Shohei turned to Tatara, "Totsuka-san…"

"I only have _her_ in my eyes!" Tatara replied, being vague and yet his surroundings sparkled with stars and hearts as he smiled.

"EH~" Then Shohei stared at Masaomi who had been watching the spectacle with wide eyes. As soon as they made eye contact, Masaomi immediately looked away. It seemed like he didn't want any part in the fiasco that was going to happen.

"No choice… Let's go Bandou!" Shohei had a serious expression on his face as Bandou ripped open his jacket to reveal his bare skin.

"YEAH!" Bandou agreed. You could see his HOMRA mark on his abdomen which would probably work to scare ladies away rather than attract them.

"San-chan, you mark's in such a strange place."

"It's fine. Ever since I got the symbol from Mikoto-san, I've never once had a stomach-ache." A proud gleam sparkled in his eye. It was as if this power was more impressive than the power to call up fire on command.

The two boys went off trying to talk to girls as Yata, Kamamoto, and Kosuke did their own thing at the beach.

Masaomi and Kosuke taught Eric how to swim, while Mikoto and Izumo lounged under the umbrella.

"The brats are so energetic." Izumo took a swig from his beer.

"You talk like an old man Kusanagi-san." Tatara teased.

"Well, dontcha try to berate me. Ya don't sound any better. Even though Hana sends us those postcards, we're all tryin to stay positive." An unspoken amount of worry always surrounded their wild card.

"Hai hai, it's okay. We know she's doing well. She's been sending those postcards. It seems like she's been pretty busy… I wonder what she's doing in Hokkaido, and then traveling down South to Okinawa."

* * *

"Anna, do you want to get in the water?"

"... If it's only my feet."

As Anna and Tatara stood around in the shallow part of the beach, Anna apologized for breaking his camera. A few days ago, Anna and Mikoto had gone off with Tatara's camera while he was on a fishing trip and accidentally broke it. It seemed like she was still feeling guilty about it.

Surprised, Tatara responded, "What? Anna, you can't still be fretting over it."

"But everyone's having fun today." She looked down towards her feet. The salty water was up to her ankles as her toes curled into the sand. There was an unmistakable note of regret in her voice. "...Even though it's such a beautiful memory. We can't capture it with anything."

"I see.. So you want to leave a memory. Do you want to film it with a PDA?"

Anna shook her head. It wouldn't be the same.

Tatara leaned down, "Anna, if you liked my camera that much, then let's buy a camera like that again."

Too happy to express herself in words, Anna jumped onto Tatara, sending them both flying into the water.

"Uwa! Geez… what are you doing all of a sudden?" Tatara took off his jacket, as it had been drenched. For revenge, he splashed Anna back.

They laughed as they played in the water.

They went a bit deeper, chasing after the waves, and seeing little fishes swimming in the shallow water. They played a game where they would attempt to catch the fish with their hands. Tatara almost caught one, but at the last second, it slipped away.

Suddenly they both froze as a shrill whistle sounded next to them.

A lady in a red swimsuit was running towards them. She wore a typical lifeguard outfit, a tight two piece with a white cross on it, and the word "LIFEGUARD" blazed on the front.

Her red cap with a lifeguard logo protected her face from the sun as a pair of polarized sunglasses covered half her face. Her hair was tied up in a tight ponytail and swishing behind her as she jogged towards them.

She grabbed both of their hands and gently guided them out of the water and onto the sand.

"...Is there a problem miss?" Tatara asked, unsure of why they were hauled out of the water.

"Where do you two think you are? Do you know how far you two drifted with the current?"

As they took a look around them, they realized that they had been playing so much, they didn't realize they were half a mile away from the rest of the group.

"Wha? But we were just… just over there? We were in the shallow water. How did we get so far?"

Anna's shoulders were trembling as she stared down at the sand. Unbeknownst to Tatara, she had a large smile on her face and was shaking from holding in her laughter.

The lifeguard continued to berate Tatara, "That's what I thought. There are strong currents, even in the shallow water that forces you to drift. If you two had drifted any further, you may have hit a dangerous rip current that could have pulled you out to sea. Most people are aware of when they're getting pulled away from where they were, but you were in your own little world. Now, what do you have to say for yourself, you baka."

That lecture tone sounded familiar.

"...baka? Wait, Hana is that you?" Tatara looked incredulously at the tanned woman standing in front of them.

"Ahahaha! Took you long enough!" Hana laughed as she ripped off her large sunglasses and bent down to accept Anna's jump-hug. Anna had realized right off the bat who the lifeguard was, because she can "see" auras.

Our unrestrained laughter was due to Tatara's bewildered face.

"Wha… but… you look so different!" It has been almost a year since they had seen Hana. She stayed the night after she healed Mikoto because she was exhausted, but left at 4AM the next day, leaving only a note behind.

"The tan and long hair is a bit of recent look, and you've never seen me in a swimsuit before. I've been out and about this past year, I'm sorry I couldn't stop by. But you enjoyed my postcards right? It's great you're all at the beach, the sun will do you some good. Come on, I'm on break, let's get you two back with the rest of the boys. It's been too long since I've seen everyone together. I didn't expect all of you to come to the beach though."

"How did you recognize us though?" Tatara, still curious, asked.

"Well at first I didn't, but with that rowdy group of boys…" We all looked pointedly at the HOMRA boys messing around on the beach a half mile away. Some were attempting to hit on girls, while all other beach-goers gave them a wide berth. Misaki had started a fight with Kamamoto, his red aura clearly on display.

"Ahh…"

* * *

Flashback

August 13, 2010

HOMRA bar, the day Hana healed Mikoto's Sanctum

Izumo was a very observant person. It was hard to tell from his demeanor, but being a bartender meant that you were always observing and analyzing what is happening around you.

Thus, it didn't take him long to realize what had happened when Hana walked downstairs, exhausted and had immediately retreated for a hug from the resident pacifist.

When she later snuck out that morning, she was surprised to find a bottle of Izumo's finest resting on the bar table.

Flipping over the small note attached, Hana read with a smile:

"Don't down it all without us." -IK

The boys on the other hand, are not as subtle.

* * *

July 25, 2011

Back to the Beach:

"ARIGATO GOZAIMASU!"

It must've been a weird scene. A group of men with matching tattoos and menacing auras all bowing to a pink-haired girl.

Flustered, Hana shook her head rapidly and waved her hands, "Guys, guys it's okay! You're welcome! Now, please stop it. People are staring!"

"Aww, but we feel bad."

"You left so quickly after you healed our King's sanctum."

"You've done so much for us, and now we're even more truly in your debt."

"We didn't realize what you'd done until we used our aura again, it was so powerful! And so much easier to use and control." The boys fistpumped their hands into the air in agreement.

"And knowing our King, although he was grateful, he probably didn't say a word of thanks!"

A bout of laughter spread amongst the boys.

"Oi, you brats. You're so loud, shut up." The boys who were laughing the loudest froze at Mikoto's voice.

However, Tatara came to their rescue.

"Maa maa, no need to get embarrassed Mikoto. The boys just wanna express their gratitude! See, even Anna agrees." The happy-go-lucky Tatara teased.

Laughter and smiles went around, and Hana wondered, how much longer can we savor this sweet memory?

* * *

~Sunset~

"Now close your eyes. I know you always come and go like a breeze on a warm summer day, so I've always kept this on me." Tatara carefully pulled out a delicate bracelet and clasped it onto Hana's wrist. "Now open your eyes."

When Hana did so, she couldn't help but be dumbstruck at the gift. They had been sitting side by side on the beach, watching the waves crash onto the warm sand. The dying rays of the sun reflected on the water, casting an orange-pink glow on both the water's surface and in the sky.

Now the rays caught and sparkled on another object: a ruby flower bracelet. The maroon-colored gems were inlaid in a gold flower design.

Tatara wrapped the chain around Hana's wrist as she admired the beauty and meaning behind it. She was speechless.

Rubies represent good fortune, pure love, and loyalty. To some, it is considered the queen of stones and the stone of kings, more valuable than a diamond. And yet, it was delicately inlaid in a beautiful gold flower. True to her namesake, Hana understood exactly how much meaning, thought, and feelings were behind this gift.

Wordlessly, Hana tackled Tatara with a warm hug as Tatara stroked the back of her head. If someone claimed she had tears leaking out, she would deny deny deny and then secretly light their clothes on fire.

 **A/N: Sorry for being MIA for so long! In the past few months I applied to Medical school, applied to a pretty intense scholarship program, completed a few medical school interviews, and got admitted to the medical school I want to go to! As always, I am procrastinating from my life and taking a nice break, so here is an update!**

 **S/O to** _**zamzym, bloodyhell99, Cnidri, Seithr-Kairy, Starkiller2468, Azone139, Artistpoppy, silvermoon95, Leyzar101, Rina Dragonfly, silvermoon95, WeDeserveASoftEpilogue, shivercat, Cocokitten12, Ice of Serenity, n1ghtdr34m3r, & Rosalix Archangel **_**for the fav/follow!**

 _ **Thank you to kikikitsune18, Lau, and Cnidri**_ _ **for the reviews!**_ _ **kikikitsune18**_ _ **I decided to incorporate your idea in, thanks for the suggestion!**_

 **Please leave a review!**


	18. Circle of Friends

Chapter 18: Circle of Friends

 **AN: Last fluff chapter! Ngl, half of this story kinda seems like fluff but it has been slowly building up, I swear! Next chapter is the second to last chapter. If you have noticed, I don't bombard you with song lyrics on chapters that already have a song embedded within it. So enjoy!**

December 25th, 2011

The HOMRA boys had moved the tables and chairs out of the way to show off their skateboarding tricks.

Misaki had his arms crossed as he watched Tatara attempt a kickflip.

Tatara balanced on the skateboard, then jumped upwards. The board followed his momentum for a bit, but didn't have enough power behind it.

It fell clumsily to the side as Tatara landed on the ground.

Chuckles and laughs filled the room.

"Wow, you really suck at this Tatara. You did it all wrong." Misaki had his arms out, demonstrating the correct technique. One hand mimicked the skateboarder and the other mimicked the board. "The first thing you have to do is go BAM! And after that you flip it." His hands waved in the air with enthusiasm.

"Uhhhh, that probably makes sense to you but I have no idea what you just said." Tatara's goofy smile conveyed his confusion.

"Gimme that board."

Misaki kicked the board up with his foot, then landed on it. He demonstrated to a crowd of "oohs" and "aahs" how to pull off a kickflip.

"What are you idiots doing! Stop that right now. Go ride that skateboard outside " Izumo called out from behind the bar. He held a champagne flute in his hands as he wiped the dust off of it. He was irritated that the boys were doing potentially dangerous stunts… that would scratch his bar.

Misaki pulled his beanie down sheepishly. Knowing they'd get away with it as long as they didn't damage the bar, Misaki gave a few pointers to Tatara, "Here, lemme show you how to do it. Just stomp on this end real hard."

The boys bantered back and forth with each other as the more "mature" members of HOMRA lounged comfortably by the bar, observing the fun.

By mature, I mean Izumo, Mikoto, Anna, and I. Anna was sipping a red fruity drink with a straw as I had another book out.

Mikoto was impressed. He stared at Tatara, who easily fit in with the rowdy HOMRA boys, "I gotta tell ya... that guy's a strange dude."

"You sure got that right." Izumo agreed.

"He really is, isn't he." I mumbled.

"Geez, the kid can't fight but he seems perfectly comfortable hanging around with a bunch of guys who do nothing but fight. You know what he reminds me of? A wild animal trainer." Izumo leaned forward as he described HOMRA's third in command. He may not be physically as strong as Izumo or Mikoto, or any of the boys really, but everyone respected him as one of the leaders of HOMRA.

The red fruity drink bubbled up as we all heard Anna blow air out of her straw.

Mikoto, Izumo, and I stared at Anna.

"Wait a minute, I heard something. Did you just laugh?" Mikoto asked Anna.

Stoically, she shook her head from side to side.

Mikoto and Izumo gave Anna one last glance before focusing their attention on the argument between Tatara and Misaki.

Underneath the table, Anna and I fistbumped.

"You suck at this." Misaki teased the brown haired boy again.

Not having any of it, Tatara defended himself, "So what? You're not good at everything! You're crap at playing Sevens."

"What! You've got a lot of nerve putting me down like that, especially coming from a guy who's into old dude hobbies like bonsai."

 _Here we go again._

"The truth is I enjoy trying lots of different things. Oh! That reminds me. At a yard sale the other day, I bought an old-style movie camera."

"What do you need that for? Just take videos with your phone."

"I… thought about that. But it's not the same." Tatara mimicked holding the video recorder up to his eye, "Hana and I have been all over town, shooting a lot of clips. I'll show them to you sometime."

Anna approached Tatara and asked, "What about your song? You know. The one you've been practicing."

"Finally, a true fan of my work. Did you hear that? The young lady whose heart has been captivated by one of my hobbies!"

"Tone it down a little, would ya?"

Tatara grabbed his acoustic guitar from the corner of the bar as everyone made themselves comfortable around him.

The hazel-eyed man caught all of our attention as he cleared his throat into his hand, "This song is called the Circle of Friends. I wrote it thinking about all of you guys."

He strummed his guitar and began:

" _The crossroad where a thousand lives  
Come and go everyday,  
That's when I first met you all.  
I didn't know, but it was then that they'd say,  
A flower bloomed that day."_

Anna had a hold of the video recorder and swung it around to record the audience. She zoomed in and focused on the pink-haired lady whose cheeks were dusted with pink as she gazed upon the singer.

" _It hasn't been quite the same,  
_ _We can overcome any obstacles,  
As long as we advance together.  
The courage amplified by our friendship  
Will protect us._

 _This is my circle of friends.  
The vow we made to that bright red sunset  
Disappears into the sepia colored moon.  
The burning bond we forged ages ago;  
May it last forever."_

That beautiful sunset during Anna's birthday. As the sun gently dipped in the background and the moon's brightness was reflected into the sepia colored tones of the dying light. The core members of HOMRA let Tatara's words sink in, reminding them of what HOMRA has given them: a home and a family.

" _You can't say that things will work out,  
But I promise that,  
I'll make it worth the while.  
So please stay, I'll always have your back.  
No matter what, I will protect that smile."_

Although this promise could be applied to anyone and everyone in HOMRA, Hana knew (and so did Anna and Izumo). This stanza was meant specifically for one person. That person gazed down at the ruby bracelet and brushed her thumb across it fondly.

" _Those good old days when we fooled around  
And laughed together. __  
Ever since, the sky is no longer grey,  
I hope you know,  
I'm happy that a flower bloomed that day."_

As Tatara's voice slowly trailed off, claps, cheers, and whistles echoed around the room.

Drinks went around as everyone made merry and had fun.

It was 30 minutes after the song when Tatara swings around, almost falling off his barstool in the process. Tipsy Tatara is a clumsy Tatara, but the next few words out of his mouth were a sincere promise.

"Yosh! Let's make a vow. A vow that is as everlasting as the sun. Even if the sun disappears, our friendship will always be there. It might not shine radiantly when it's dark out, but we know it will always rise the next morning. Our bonds were forged in fire and we are bound to each other til the end of the line."

"No blood, no bone, no ash!" Everyone chanted and raised their drinks up to the sky.

 **S/O to Shouten Kochou, Dynaisuoh, Gissung,** **cristinanp2401, and** **Lieut Frost for the fav/follow!**

 **Please leave a review!**


	19. Tatara Totsuka, I lo-

Chapter 19: Tatara Totsuka, I lo-

 **A/N: The end is near! It might seem abrupt but I'm planning on posting side stories that occur between chapters. This time, the song is embedded in the plot! Please read the lyrics as I feel like some parts describe what Hana is thinking/feeling. Song is "Runnin" by Adam Lambert.**

December 5, 2012  
Wednesday Night  
9 PM

"See you in a bit!" A happy goodbye was heard as a group of people parted ways.

"Okay you two lovebirds, don't forget you have a curfew." Izumo teased as he, Mikoto, and Anna headed back to HOMRA. His tone was lighthearted, but he also knew that they've been running into trouble lately.

Hana would be able to brute force her way through trouble and Tatara could probably talk his way out, but Izumo didn't want to take chances with those two. Hana was also being cryptic and vague, reminding them to always be on guard and alert.

Recently, he had felt a crawling sensation on the back of his neck, as if a spider had been walking along his skin. It made him shiver. It was the same feeling he got when someone was watching him.

There was no set time or place that it occurred, it often happened at random. He had to force himself to not shiver from the creepy sensation.

Sometimes it would be in the middle of a crowded area or when he was walking home alone from the bar. He never let his guard down, but in the end the feeling would vanish as soon as it had appeared.

* * *

 **Hana's POV**

I stuck my tongue out childishly at Izumo, Mikoto, and Anna's retreating backs.

It was a beautiful Wednesday night, the night sky was clear and unobstructed by clouds or pollution. It was a perfect evening to try out Tatara's old-style movie camera.

There was still time left until the Colorless King made his move.

According to canon, the 7th King attacked and killed Tatara a little past midnight, on Anna's birthday. Anna's birthday is on December 8th so there's 3 more days until the attack.

Even with "mother hen" mode activated, I knew that nothing ever goes according to plan. Especially since I was here changing the plot line. But in all honesty, any of my boys can be injured at any time or on any day. I could get hit by a car and die - ahhh wait. I really shouldn't say that since I really did get hit with a car and die.

My eyes glazed over as Tatara and I walked side by side, holding hands. We weren't on a busy street, but there was so much life occurring around us. I was mesmerized by the city lights while I allowed my thoughts to wander.

I'm not going to limit Tatara's freedom just because I'm terrified he's going to die. By no means am I not terrified, I love that idiot, but he's my idiot. And we're in this together.

I was abruptly pulled out of my thoughts when I was knocked on the forehead.

I comically blinked in shock and stopped walking. Instead of by my side, Tatara had turned and faced me with a stupid grin on his face.

"Stop that worrying, I know that face Hana. Everything is going to turn out alright."

I glared at him, the idiot with his hand still poised in the knocking position.

"I'm not a door y'know." I retorted as I brought my fingers up to rub my forehead. The action was more out of habit than actual pain.

* * *

 _[Steel to my trembling lips,  
How did the night ever get like this?]_

 **10:30PM**

"No! You can't!" Tatara firmly ordered as he held my right hand in worry.

I attempted to wrench my hand away from Tatara, but he held on tight. My left shoulder was throbbing, but despite the pain I knew what I had to do.

I had been shot by the Colorless King. He had already been on the rooftop when Tatara and I entered. A sense of dread had filled me, and I had stepped in front of Tatara to take the bullet meant for him. This resulted in me getting a bullet wound to the shoulder and the shooter escaping.

Yes yes, I know I could have activated my aura ahead of time, but the gun had already gone off as soon as we stepped onto the roof. I've learned my lesson, I know I should always have my aura shield activated despite it draining my energy.

"I have to!" I insisted that I needed to follow the perpetrator and apprehend him. But in reality, I had something different planned. He came to us, now it's my turn to go after him.

"You're injured, I won't let you go!"

That stubborn idiot. In a flash, I leaned into him and kissed him.

Our mouths touched for the first time. His lips were soft and warm and mine were intense and insistent. His eyes widened and he went slack for a moment.

And that's all it took. In his shock, his grip on my hand loosened and I wrenched it away.

Without looking back, I jumped after the Colorless King, chasing after his thread.

"HANA!" Tatara's voice sounded heartbroken.

* * *

 _[My heart's beating faster, I know what I'm after.  
I've been standing here my whole life,  
Everything I've seen twice, now it's time I realize  
It's spinnin' back around now, on this road I'm crawling  
Save me cause I'm falling, now I can't seem to breathe right.]_

I cut through the tall buildings, enhancing my speed and strength with my aura. I was chasing after a transparent fishing line, one that was almost impossible to see.

I concentrated some of my aura into my eyes, enhancing my vision to follow the thread better. To ignore the gunshot wound, I had my aura numb my shoulder. All of my aura was directed to my speed, strength, and eyesight. I didn't have enough energy to concentrate on the delicate process of healing, despite the adrenaline rushing through my blood.

My left arm went limp and useless but it didn't matter. I wouldn't need it to do what I needed to do.

* * *

"You. Better. Stop. Right. There. Pal." I managed to huff out. I landed on the same rooftop as the perpetrator, who had turned around to confront me.

"Oho? You have managed to keep up, I'm not surprised." The white-haired boy laughed with an evil gleam in his eye. He did a twirl on the rooftop with the gun held loosely in his hand, "You see, I've been watching you lately. You've put a wrench in my plans."

"Why thank you."

He gave a sharp laugh, "It just meant that I need to kill you or have you to myself."

I smirked, "Well I guess the first one didn't wo-."

BANG. BANG. BANG. BANG.

My sentence was cut off as a gun was fired. But silence didn't fill the air. Instead, it was the sound of bullets dropping to the floor. They had hit an opaque pink wall that had suddenly appeared in front of me. Well not suddenly, I had it up there the entire time but the aura was activated when the bullets touched it.

"How rude, I didn't even finish my sentence."

Not perturbed, the Colorless King gave a nonchalant shrug and tossed the empty gun to the ground.

It clattered noisily, but our attention never wavered from each other's gaze. We held no interest in something so meaningless. A weapon that could certainly do harm but not end the other.

"So what do you want? I'm sure you didn't just follow me and leave your foolish boyfriend all alone just to have a bit of a chat now did you?"

"Actually, yes. I'm here to give you a chance. Let me help you return to your original body."

"AhAHahahAHAHahhA! You think I'm satisfied with something as powerless as being the 7th King?! No no no, you don't understand. I am the chosen one! I was the one chosen for these powers. To rule the world! People write me off as weak and insignificant just because I'm not as powerful as the other kings, the weakest king they say!" A crazed gleam took over his eyes. "But I'll show them, I have the whole world under my fingertips, every person should obey ME. I'll consume consume consume consume everything and everyone until no one can stop me. NO ONE."

As I listened to his words, a bud of sadness welled up within my chest. I don't know what happened, but I couldn't get to him in time. I couldn't stop his descent into madness. I don't know his backstory, I don't know what happened to him to turn him this way, but there was only one thing left I could do.

"But now, I know who YOU are. I've spied on you from afar. You're special. You're the King's Flower, you're the weak link. Special enough to hold your own against a king but not enough to do any real damage."

' _Haaa so I guess he doesn't actually know. I've thought about this for so long... I'm ready and prepared to bear the consequences. I'm ready to say goodbye, even if those I want to say it to the most are not here to hear it.'_

"I've already done my part, I'm prepared to go." I announced to the 7th King.

"Huahuahua GO?! GO WHERE? Back to your boring little hideout in that tiny bar of yours? Run back to the arms of the Silver King? Red King? That weakling of a boy toy of yours? No, I need you. I shall take over your body and devour your powers. I need your body and the information in that head of yours to find the Silver King. He's no longer in his airship because of YOUR MEDDLING." The 7th King lunged at the pink haired girl, pushing her down to the ground and grabbing her by the throat.

Scarily calm, her eyes level with the amber-colored eyes of the Colorless King's vessel. Inside the vessel's eyes, she watched the white fox form of the king's soul agitatedly move around.

'How unstable.' She mused.

No matter how much effort he put into trying to overtake her body, he kept getting repelled and returning to the schoolboy's body he was using.

Despite his grip gradually tightening in frustration, Hana spoke calmly, "You've misunderstood. My power is to heal. And even medicine can be a poison if misused. Everyone has always thought that only a King can kill another King, but they're wrong. If one has enough resolve, and enough power in their sanctum to match a King… they can either _heal_ or _kill_ a King."

 _[A life that's always been a dream,  
Wake up now and live oh!  
I've been standing here my whole life,  
My heart's beating faster, I know what I'm after.]_

I have never told anyone that every king has a weakness. As the King's Flower, I am the only one who knew about the loophole in the grand scheme of this world, the only one who could do what needs to be done. In exchange for using up the rest of my sanctum, my life force, I could kill a King.

I gently placed my hand on the king's cheek, as if carressing it.

A large pulse of aura emits from my body as I summon up my sanctum. A large Sword of Damocles hovers above us, a sword that has never been seen before.

It has a slim blade with a strange cross guard. The cross guard has 7 stones of various colors embedded within it in a circular pattern: silver, gold, red, blue, green, grey, and colorless. The base of the handle is fuschia-colored, which fades into an ombre of multiple shades of pink that extends to the tip of the blade.

"WAIT. NO, NO, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! OPEN YOUR EYES, OPEN THEM!" The Colorless King frantically shook me. He even tried to let go and push himself away, but found he couldn't. A pink aura had engulfed us both.

' _I was… happy. Tatara, I wonder… will he be angry? But I have no regrets… I am and have always been Hana Kugawa. I lived true to myself and will accept the consequences of my actions, now and forever…. Well, maybe one tiny regret. Wish I could burn up a sun just to say goodbye. Tatara Totsuka, I lo-.'_ My consciousness drifted away as the last of my sanctum was used to destroy the Colorless King and return all of the souls he possessed to their comatose bodies (if they still had bodies to return to).

Everything went dark.

* * *

 **Unknown POV**

It smells good, like flowers.

It's cold. But I'm lying on something warm.

Everything hurts. I groan weakly as I open my eyes and find enough strength to push myself off the ground. I can feel long hair underneath my palms and I abruptly search for its source.

It's dark outside but as I squint down, I gasp.

There's a girl! Wait, why was I lying on top of her? Did I… did I hurt her? She has finger marks around her throat and I'm the only one here.

"B-b-blood! Her shoulder is bloody?! Help… someone help!" I frantically get up and press my hands against her injured shoulder to stop the flow of blood. "Hello, hello, miss? Can you hear me?"

She's unresponsive as her body gets colder and colder.

Fumbling around, I frantically search my pockets (this isn't my school uniform, why am I wearing this?) for my PDA. Finding it tucked into my inner jacket pocket, I ignore the blood that gets smeared on the screen as I dial for the police.

"110, what's your emergency?"

"There's a lady bleeding to death on a rooftop! She was shot, I see a gun at the edge of the roof."

"May we use your PDA's location to track you?"

"Yes, yes go ahead." The white-haired boy responded.

"Okay keep calm, can you tell me your name?"

"I… my name... my name… what's my name?"

 **A/N: Did I surprise you? I surprised myself! I already had a different plot set in my head, but somehow this is my (almost) conclusion. Maybe I'll go back and edit it later, add a few more details. However, I'm really happy with what I have here.**

 **There is 1 more chapter left! Plus an epilogue I believe. I dunno, this story just seems to be writing itself. I'm currently watching K: Seven Stories for the first time so I'm also getting more inspiration there.**

 **I don't wanna beg for reviews, but they always make me happy. So if you want to make a complete stranger, who has complete control over this story (jk my characters are rebelling against their author cuz I didn't plan a few things that happened here) to be happy, please leave something nice!**


	20. Under Control

Chapter 23: Under Control

 **A/N: Did you know Shizume means "suppressing/controlling." So Shizume Town in the K Project anime is the "Town that is controlled"... Presumably by the kings. Longest chapter yet! Was too lazy to break this into 2 diff chapters, so enjoy the update.**

 **THIS IS OFFICIALLY THE SECOND TO LAST CHAPTER. THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO HAS FOLLOWED THIS STORY, I APPRECIATE ALL OF YOU.**

 **Also thanks for the reviews! They give me motivation to keep on writing.**

"I might be anyone,  
A lone fool out in the sun.  
Your heartbeat of solid gold,  
I love you, you'll never know.

When the daylight comes you feel so cold.  
You know I'm too afraid of my heart to let you go.  
Waiting for the fire to light,  
Feeling like we could do right.

Be the one that makes tonight,  
'Cause freedom is a lonely road.  
We're under control."

-"Under Control" by Alesso

 **December 5, 2012 (Same night as previous chapter)**

 **11:30 PM**

There was a pulse that seemed to silently reverberate over Shizume city.

It's interesting to note that regular citizens without access to sanctums are unaware of the clans in their city.

Whenever Kings use their sanctum, a large Sword of Damocles appears over them. However, normal citizens can't see the sword because their biological wave is not synced to the Dresden Slate.

However, those from every clan looked up into the sky and saw a new Sword of Damocles. To most, it was a mystery to whom it belonged to. Was there a new King? A new clan?

The ombre-colored Sword of Damocles hung in the air for a few moments before it pulsed with a pink-colored aura. Not too long after the pulse, it shattered into a million diamonds that glowed pink as they gently settled upon the city.

There were only a select few who understood what just happened and immediately mobilized.

Tatara had already contacted Kusanagi when Hana had left to chase after the shooter. However, he wasn't of much help because he didn't see or hear the shooter. Even when he rewound the tape, all it captured was a blur before Hana's back covered the lens and blood splattered over it.

Tatara had dropped the film recorder in shock, and the only thing that was captured was the audio. It recorded their voices arguing about chasing after the mysterious figure before Hana took off.

As soon as Hana's Sword of Damocles appeared, Kusanagi, Misaki, and Tatara all converged on the location. Despite being the closest to the building, it took them fifteen minutes to figure out where the fight occurred. Floating swords in the sky hover over a certain _area._ Getting an exact location takes a while longer.

However, they were too late and only caught a glimpse of an ambulance leaving the location and a dark red spot on the rooftop. Police were already starting to arrive, so Kusanagi contacted SCEPTER 4 to handle the matter as it related to the Red King's territory and clan.

Although Hana never belonged to a single Clan (despite promising all those years ago that she had something to take care of first) it was an unspoken agreement that almost all matters concerning Hana Kugawa was the Red Clan's responsibility.

* * *

 **Shizume General Hospital**

"Are you all her family members? Only Tatara Totsuka is listed as her emergency contact, but if you are not part of her family then you must leave the room." The doctor declared unknowingly to a room filled with HOMRA's top brass.

Anna sat in a chair, quietly looking at Hana's form in the hospital bed.

Misaki was staring at the corner of the room, feeling resentful for how easily Hana was taken down.

Izumo was in the corner making urgent phone calls.

Tatara just had a soft smile as he brushed his fingers through Hana's hair, careful not to get them tangled in the mess of tubes and wires going to and from Hana's body. It seemed like he was lost in thought for a moment.

Mikoto had his arms crossed and was leaning with his eyes closed against the far wall. "Just cut the shit already. Tell us her condition."

If the King directed this tone at a member of his own clan, they'd be shaking in their boots. When directed at a middle-aged doctor in a white coat, the medical professional could barely stammer out the words fast enough before fleeing the room.

"Ku-kugawa-san is n-not in a cri-criti-tical c-condition. G-gunshot wound w-wasn't fa-fatal. S-she's in a coma and w-we don't know why! She m-may nev-never wake u-up or she might be fine." He managed to finish his statement as he was backing out of the room.

The King remained quiet. If Hana was awake he would shake her and demand to know who dared to make an attempt on her and Tatara's life.

"Where are you Hana? Please come back." Anna quietly murmured as she gazed at the immobile figure.

* * *

 **December 6th (The next morning)**

 **8AM**

The white haired boy in a bloodied school uniform was taken into custody by SCEPTER 4.

He had lost his memories from the past year, but was eventually able to recall his name: Tōru Hieda. Using this name, SCEPTER 4 tracked down his origin and affiliation.

It appeared that Tōru Hieda grew up in an orphanage. After graduating from middle school, he had to work because he couldn't afford high school. After contacting his previous employer, they had said he was a responsible, yet shy worker who just suddenly stopped showing up to work one day.

Hieda couldn't recall anything that had happened between a year ago and when he woke up on the rooftop with the pink-haired lady. He didn't even know her name.

At first, SCEPTER 4 resisted when HOMRA wanted to question the boy. However, Kusanagi made some well-placed calls and they were allowed 10 minutes of questioning as long as they promised to not harm the suspect.

The motive for the crime was a mystery to everyone involved. The only person who may know (that isn't in a coma) is this shady Hieda person.

Another reason SCEPTER 4 allowed the interrogation is because HOMRA has Anna. Anna's powers allow her to read the thoughts of those she looks at through her red marble.

Which led us to now, with the core members of the Red Clan standing at the gates of SCEPTER 4.

"Third King Mikoto Suoh, your actions are wild and chaotic as usual. You should leave this under SCEPTER 4's jurisdiction." The Blue King announced with his entourage behind him. His haughty tone of voice irked the Red King.

"Fourth King Resei Munakata… Your face looks awful and annoying as usual." Mikoto mocked the Blue King who greeted them in front of SCEPTER 4 headquarters.

The Red Clan was walking right into the Blue Clan's territory. It was understandable why there would be high tensions among everyone, especially with their history.

Before a fight broke out and they were forced to get their hands on the suspect with brute force, Tatara stepped in, "Ma ma now, we already discussed this. You said we can have 10 minutes with the suspect."

"That is correct... In exchange, you will have to inform us of all the information you obtain and also hand over the gun you confiscated from the crime scene." Seri spoke up.

SCEPTER 4 wasn't going to allow attempted murder to slide right under their noses. And despite putting on a cold exterior, Hana was a close friend to many people at SCEPTER 4. They were going to do their best to help find the true perpetrator.

HOMRA is escorted to the holding facility located in the basement of SCEPTER 4.

Hieda has a cautious look on his face as unfamiliar people enter the room.

He had already changed out of the uniform he wore the night before, and it was kept as evidence. The blood splatters on it is pretty convincing of his guilt. He wore a loose, unisex outfit. Almost like navy-colored pajamas.

Everyone is tense and quiet as Anna walks up to the white-haired boy. She leans forward and stares at him through her red marble.

Hieda felt as if this young girl was looking right into his soul. As if every thought and every memory he has ever had could not be hidden from the girl's piercing red eyes.

The intense stare-down continued for a few moments until the white-haired girl leaned back.

She shook her head and quietly announced, "He didn't do it. He's lost and has no memory."

Everyone lets out a sigh. The Reds do it in annoyance and the Blues do it out of relief. If he was guilty, he would have immediately been burned until there was no blood, bone or ash left. Not even the Blue King would have been able to stop them if they were determined enough.

Allowing the Red Clan into their headquarters was a risk they took in order to bring justice to the criminal. However, their suspect is innocent and as such they would send him on his way.

HOMRA left the SCEPTER 4 headquarters with the same amount of respect as they entered it. In other words, scorching footprints and a crumbled brick column that somehow offended Misaki as he was passing by it.

* * *

The Red Clan was out for blood. With Tatara left behind to keep Hana company in the hospital, there was no one to calm the Red King down.

The whole town was on edge, even if the normal citizens couldn't figure out why. They just knew it was dangerous and that there were patrols of the red gang scoping out any suspicious people. There were rumors that they busted an underground weapons-trafficking ring.

Not even Hana could predict the events that started to occur.

* * *

 **Shizume General Hospital**

 **December 8th (2 days after questioning Hieda, day the anime begins)**

 **8 AM**

A scantily dressed girl with heterochromia eyes and a man with long, silver-colored hair stroll into the hospital room.

Muscles tense and gazes harden as everyone's attention, except for the man's sitting by the patient's bedside, turns towards the unfamiliar strangers who just casually strolled into the room.

Kusanagi opened his mouth to tell them off, but was cut off by the girl's words.

"Did Neko win the game? Hana-chan said Neko is good at games! See, see! I delivered it just like I promised!" She waved a letter with the HOMRA insignia stamped on it in the air.

"Neko, please give these gentlemen the letter." The silver-haired man sighed.

As Neko reluctantly handed over the letter to Kusanagi, he finally found his words, "Who are you?"

"My name is Adolf K. Weismann, the 1st and Silver King. But also, Hana's friend."

At this point, the room was no longer surprised. Hana was always good at making friends, no matter where she went.

"And I'm Neko! I'm Hana-chan's friend too!" Neko looked around the room, proud of herself. But seeing the expressions on their faces, she became confused. She held her hand up and pawed at an itch behind her ear. "But, but, why aren't you all happy? Hana-chan, why are you being so lazy? I'm here now, you should wake up and play with me!"

"Neko..." The Silver King placed a hand down on her shoulder.

"NO! Stop, why is everyone making that face? Hana-chan is still here. She's okay, see she's just sleeping. Maybe she's tired!" Neko became more agitated as no one responded to her and the girl in the bed didn't move.

The expressions of those in the room were hard to read.

"Ne, ne onee-san." Neko reverted back to the nickname she often used with Hana. "Play with meeeee." She gently hopped over to the other side of Hana's bed, and pawed at her hand.

"Oi! Don't tou-" Misaki was cut off as Anna poked him in the leg and shook her head. Neko needed to understand that Hana couldn't respond to her even if she wanted to.

"Oneeee-sannnn." She whined. "Why won't you wake up? Is it because Neko is bad? Did Neko not do the game right? I promise… I promise I'll do it right this time. So please, just wake up and tell me I did a good job, ne?" Tears began to overflow in her eyes, and Neko eventually ran out of the room.

"Gomenasai… I'll step out of the room and allow you to read her letter. Once you're done, we have matters to discuss." Adolf apologized on behalf of Neko and followed her out of the room.

Kusanagi handed the letter to Tatara, who opened it with a small smile on his face. In the author's opinion, it was a poor attempt to reassure the others he was okay.

Although his voice sounded tired, Tatara still read it aloud:

" _If you're reading this letter, it probably means I'm gone, in critical condition, or dead. I told Neko and Addy that if I didn't call them at midnight on December 7, 2011, then they need to find you and deliver this letter to you. You can trust them, I've been good friends with them for years._

 _I don't know the results of my actions, but I request that you don't seek revenge._

 _Don't bother going after the Colorless King, I'm pretty sure I've taken care of him. And don't harm the white-haired boy if he's still there. Nothing was his fault, he's an innocent bystander._

 _The Colorless King was an amalgamation of human souls, which is why it was so hard for me to find him unless he approached me first. But I've released all the souls (hopefully)._

 _There's still so much I wanted to say and do, but in the beginning I knew my time with you was short. Thank you for the wonderful memories and for being my family._

 _There will still be butterflies in a garden without flowers. So please, let me be selfish and ask that you all be happy without me. I love you all._

 _P.S. I promised Neko, so make sure to give her lots of fish!_

 _P.S.S. Anna, please have a wonderful birthday. This present is for you to remember me by if I didn't get the chance to give it to you."_

Tatara handed a beautiful red rose necklace that was inside the envelope to Anna. It must be the present Hana was talking about. Anna accepted it with both hands, but still buried her face into Tatara's chest.

Kusanagi stepped out of the room to contact the rest of the clan to stop the search parties. Hana clearly explained the situation to them: the Colorless King had been defeated and there was no perpetrator they could catch and punish.

"Tch. She can give the cat lady fish herself when she wakes up." Misaki annoyedly muttered.

With sadness lacing his words, Tatara finally spoke, "You've always taken care of others before you've taken care of yourself huh?" He laid his fingers gently on the motionless girl's cheeks. Although faint, her pulse was still there.

* * *

"Why the long faces? There's still hope to wake her up."

The hospital room was filled with various shouts of "eh?" It had only been a few minutes since the Silver King had exited the room to give them privacy.

"What are you trying to pull you bastard?!" Misaki was quick to misunderstand the situation.

Addy cracked a smile and walked over to Misaki. Before Misaki could back away, he was poked in the chest by the First King's umbrella.

Suddenly, Misaki was engulfed in a silver aura and began to float. He frantically flailed his arms around and kicked his legs as an attempt to keep upright in the air.

Izumo, the brains of HOMRA, looked from Misaki to the First King, "What's the point in this demonstration?"

"All I did was tune in to the spectrum of your biological wave, which is synced to the Red Clan, and synced it to my own, which is Silver. You see, we each have an attribute associated with our souls, which allows us to accept the powers of a certain clan."

"This sounds like something Hana had mentioned once…" Tatara put a finger up to his chin in thoughtfulness, "M-my… Myers…. Bridge.. No… Briggs?"

"Ahh yes, the Myers Briggs Personality Test. While it is true that these wavelengths have a slight impact on our personality, it is hard to say with so many variables present. The parallels can be summed up as so: There's a spectrum and some people may fall more towards one end such as 'Judgers,' like the Blue Clan. These types of people tend to be well-organized and prepared. They are comfortable following most rules and like to stick to plans. On the other hand, there are people who are the opposite. They are 'Perceivers.' Perceivers like to keep their options open, act spontaneously, and see rules as flexible. As you can probably tell, these types of people are those that typically belong to the Red Clan."

As the First King's explanation dragged on, you could see the steam coming out of Misaki's ears. There was just too much information to process all at once.

"Just get to the point already!" Misaki couldn't hold back his impatience.

Addy chuckled. "By syncing up with someone's sanctum I can temporarily give them access to the Silver King's sanctum to manipulate gravity. In one way, sanctum can be seen as a person's life force. The more depleted it becomes, the weaker one is. The more out of control it is, the tougher it gets to control one's powers. Hana also did the same thing I just did; she synced her unique sanctum to the Red King's in order to heal him. But what if we did it in reverse? What if multiple Kings come together and sync their sanctum to hers and give her each a small part of ourselves. This way we can replenish her life force while doing minimal damage to ours."

* * *

"They would do just about anything for you it seems." Dresden leaned back as he rested on the slate. His head tilted back as he took a sip from the yunomi (traditional Japanese tea cup) in his hands.

"Hmmm..." Hana took a sip from her own yunomi. She was enjoying the flavor of the Hōji-cha tea as she watched the events occurring from a white screen. It was like a projector screen that showed the events as they occurred.

It reminded Hana of when she used to watch anime; she was disconnected from the events occurring on the screen and couldn't interact with them in any way.

When she first fell into a coma and arrived here, she tried to touch the images that appeared on the screen and respond to the voices that she heard but to no avail.

"I can send you back to your original world. You've completed the task I requested of you."

Hana remained silent.

"You've been in a coma in your original world for the past 3 years you've been here. If you choose to stay, you'll die there. And that's only if their plan works. Because it's true, your sanctum was completely used up and needs to be replenished before your soul can return to your body. Your soul is here with me for right now, but your life force and your sanctum are pretty much nonexistent. I am keeping you in a temporary state of stasis."

Dresden sighed softly, "I had to cut your sanctum's access to me, to the Slate, because you were using too much of it, too fast. You would start to affect the other Kings if I didn't do so. That means I can't directly restore your sanctum."

Hana places her yunomi down on the Slate's surface. Despite knowing the answer, she asked anyway: "What would happen if I choose to return back to my world?"

" **You'll die here and can never return."**

She couldn't hold back a wince at the blunt words. She was already prepared to never see Tatara, Mikoto, Anna, and the rest again.

Memories of the past 3 years came crashing down. But at the same time, she also couldn't forget her best friend from back home, her family, her dreams and goals and aspirations. When she had to leave them behind, she tried to at least fulfill them during her time in the K Project world.

Her pink hair settled around her as she flopped onto her back. Staring into the endless sky above, she paid no mind to the floating island she'd been relaxing on for the past few days.

It wasn't an actual island, but the Slate itself. It was just like when she first arrived in this world.

Dresden was there to keep her company and this was akin to a dream world. She was never hungry, but when she craved tea or pocky it would appear. She didn't really sleep but could close her eyes to pass the time.

"If life was easy, it wouldn't be worth living. As my mother often said, 'Life doesn't have to be perfect to be beautiful.'"

"And those readers will be really sad if you just gave up at this point." Dresden pointed out.

"... don't just casually break the fourth wall. We've got an image to maintain." Hana sent a small glare to Dresden Rex.

 **A/N: Read this on Wattpad for images/videos that go along with scenes. This chapter was supposed to be the last one... but it turned out pretty long. We're almost at the end! Another chapter will come out when I'm done with finals.**

 **S/O to** **Shannyrox101, Trafalgar D. Water Rena, MarvelGeek13, Scarlett D. Uchiha, michelly ciel, MeiLinX, MeiLinX, KaliRenee, Casey Nicole Delgado, Pokechan123, & Black-Rabbit32** **for the fav/follow!**

 **Thanks for the reviews everyone! Sorry I haven't been responding as much as I'd hoped. And as I promised, there will still be a happy ending!**


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